Shine
by Sileny
Summary: A new girl from Osaka transfers over to Tokyo and ends up in Fuji and Eiji's class, where she will attend school for one year in hopes of getting a surgery to help a heart problem. My first PoT fic. Constuctive Criticism is loved. Please read & review.
1. Prologue

**Shine**

Written by Sileny

_**Prologue**_

It was Thursday, and there was a big exam at school that counted for a massively significant portion of you grade. This meant that if you were sane, then you would be currently sitting in the classroom taking it.

She believed she was quite sane, yet she was not taking this exam, opting instead for a visit to the hospital (her third trip that week). Her little journey took her to the all-too-familiar wooden stool, with a worn-out looking leather cushion placed on it to make it more comfortable. How many times had she sat on that stool? It was too many to count.

"Aa-chan." The soft voice of her doctor reached her ears and she looked up from where her dusty blue eyes were following the creases in the cushion. A pair of kind brown eyes regarded her. She remembered vaguely that when she first came here those eyes were filled with regret and pity. The regret she could understand, the pity she detested. Over the years they had faded to simply soft kindness, a kindness she just seemed to absorb into herself, holding onto it like a lifeline.

Basically speaking, she had grown rather close to her doctor. That was the one person, excluding her father, which knew all of her secrets.

"Hai?" When she was littler she used to fidget uncomfortably, her eyes constantly going towards the window where she could see the sunbeams dancing on the grass outside. Sometimes she swore the sun would be dancing so freely just to spite her.

"The transactions for the surgery have been completed. You do remember the hospital in Tokyo that I was telling you about?" A faint nod indicated that she knew what was being discussed. "They have accepted and it is scheduled sometime in the summer of next year." The doctor handed her a manila envelope bulging with papers which she placed in her lap. She would go over its contents later. "I've talked with your father already, and he says your mother and two sisters are currently living in Tokyo. He has decided that you are going to transfer to a school in Tokyo. You shouldn't be missing much because the school year has just started."

Her face was an unreadable mask. "Do I have to take the entrance exam?" she asked. Rumor was that the entrance exams into private schools in the capitol were twice as hard as those given in Osaka. Of course, she didn't believe them.

"No. Your grades from the exam you've already taken have been sent to the school already. You will be attending Seishen Gakuen, a private school." Another manila folder, nearly as thick as the previous one, was handed to her and it joined the other on her lap.

The doctor pulled up a chair and sat in front of her. "Asa-chan," she said seriously, using her given name and not her pet name like she usually did, "do you want this?"

A moment's pause, then, in a quiet voice, "Yes."

The doctor smiled, folding one of her hands over the girl's. "Saa… there should be no problem, then, Aa-chan." Said girl smiled weakly, getting up and thanking the doctor before exiting the doorway. When she had gone, the older woman let out a sigh. If only there truly would be no problems.

If only…


	2. Chapter 1

**_Chapter 1_**

"Hmm…"

Sunlight streamed into an otherwise plain room via an open window. A small, white cat was perched on the windowsill, basking in the sunbeam and purring happily. After a few moments the cat stretched and leaped gracefully down onto the bed, nudging her owner's cheek with her nose, meowing. No response came from the girl so she nudged harder, this time using a small white paw.

The alarm clock suddenly kicked to life and the cat's owner shot up, dusty blue eyes opened wide in alarm. The cat leaped to the side, bristling, before leaping into the girl's lap and meowing again. "Eh…?" The girl looked down at her cat, fondling its ears with a hand. "Gomen, Seika," she apologized. "You of all should know that I'm not a morning person." Seika mewed up at her as she climbed out of bed, stretching her small form. For a girl approaching fifteen years of age, she was surprising small, only around five feet two. Raven colored hair spilled down to the small of her back, which she simply ran a comb through to untangle it. "Let's see…" she murmured quietly, turned to the calendar on her wall. It sported a picture of a gray wolf on it, staring out into the room from its forest home. "Today is my first day at Seishun Academy," she told the bundle of white fluff on her bed. "Wish me luck. 'K?" Seika mewed happily as she left the room, and then followed to the kitchen to eat.

"Gu-tenmorugen, minasan," she murmured as she entered the kitchen, bidding everyone a good morning. Two of the four people in the kitchen acknowledged her existence; the other two just continued to eat. "I feel so loved," she sighed lightly as she slid into her seat.

A lady in a stylish business suit bent down as the white cat strode regally into the kitchen. This got the attention of the two smaller girls, who put down their chopsticks. Kurumi, the younger of the two, openly squealed. "She's fluffy!"

"And she sheds," the lady muttered, but patted her small head none the less, resulting in a deep resonating purr from said animal. "Fish?" she asked, placing a dish with the offering in front of the cat. Seika twined around the lady's ankles before settling down to nibble daintily at her breakfast. Straightening, the woman turned to Seika's owner. "How was your night, Asa-chan?" she asked kindly. "Did you like your room?"

Asa nodded politely. "Ah… it was nice. Thank you very much for your hospitality." _Is she really my mother?_ She cast a quizzical glance at the professional looking haircut, the business suit, the studded pearl earrings and necklace that completed the executive look. _Well, what do you expect from the CEO of a major company?_

"How was your research?" The lady placed a plate of food in front of Asa and directed her attention to the man who was sitting opposite of her. Ebony colored hair that just refused to stay in one direction was fluffed up. Sea-green eyes behind half-rimmed eyeglasses glanced up from the paper he was reading.

"It's been coming along," he murmured. "They have me doing most of the paperwork. I don't work with the elements as much as I used to." A soft laugh escaped his lips at this point, and the lady looked relieved. "They have new fellows working with them. I supervise them constantly."

Asa smiled faintly. Her father was a nuclear scientist who worked a lot with radioactive materials. His main lab was located in Osaka, which was why he had taken her with him there. Her mother's company was located in Tokyo, so she stayed with the twins and kept everything running.

"I have a smaller lab here run by a few associates of mine," he was continuing. "Upper management wants a detailed report on a few… subjects." His unwillingness to elaborate meant highly confidential subjects. This was interesting. "If you don't have time to ferry Aa-chan to the hospital, I'll do that. I know work is busy. Of course, she could always take the bus there, too, seeing as there's a bus stop at the corner." Kurumi and Narumi glanced in curiosity at her, which she simply ignored and continued to eat.

"We'll work something out," the lady reassured him. She threw a glance at the clock and then turned to the girls. "You three had better leave now or you'll be late. Asa-chan, do you have a map?" Asa nodded and pulled it out. The route to school had been highlighted with an obnoxiously bright pink highlighter the night before, so her eyes wouldn't wander to other parts of the map and get hopelessly lost.

The twins got up, thanking their mother for the meal and running to get their backpacks. Asa followed suit, taking her empty plate to the sink and depositing it there before heading up to her room. Her school bag was on the desk, so she grabbed it. Upon reentering the kitchen, a homemade bento was handed to her by her father.

"I hope you didn't cook this," Asa murmured mischievously as she took the wrapped package.

He winked. "Of course not." Then, he shooed her out the door. When all three were outside he winked at his wife. "I hope you're prepared for a lively life," he cautioned.

She snorted. "Bring it, Ayumu," she retorted, using his given name like most couples did.

He smirked in response. "Of course, Chikako."

***

"Sometimes I wished I was named Chikako," Kurumi said happily as she walked down the street. Her older twin sister, Narumi, and her eldest sister, Asa, followed at a slower pace. "It's such a pretty name, isn't it?" She turned around and glanced at them. "It's better than being named after a walnut, at least," she grumbled moodily.

"Don't say that, Kurumi!" Narumi chided her twin. Kurumi's face adopted a comically cute little girl pout before it seemed to light up. This happened instantaneously, Asa noted.

"Syusuke-onii-chan!" she squealed, her right arm shooting to wave madly over her head. "Good morning!" Then the grade-schooler was running back up the street to throw herself into a hug around the boy who had been walking, obviously with no intention of being glomped that morning.

"Kurumi!" Narumi cried, exasperated, as she dashed after her twin. Heaving a sigh, Asa followed them. Narumi was apologizing, mumbling things about her sister being immature and that she should know better than to run down the street and forcefully hug people.

The boy disentangled Kurumi from around his waist and smiled kindly at Narumi. "Iie, it's fine," he said lightly, shifting the strap of his tennis bag to a more comfortable position on his shoulder. "I hope you two have enjoyed your weekend." Enthusiastic nods met his statement. Then his smiling gaze shifted to Asa. "Who's this?" he asked, letting the question simply hang in the air.

Kurumi turned and flashed a smile at the older girl. "This is Asa-onee-chan!" she said brightly. The boy cocked a brow and Asa spoke up.

"My name is Ijuuin Asa; I'm Kurumi and Narumi's sister, a third year in Junior High. And you are?"

"Fuji Syusuke, third year at Seishun Academy," came the automatic reply. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ijuuin-chan." Fuji stuck out a hand and she hesitated before shaking it. He glanced down at his wrist, where he had a wristwatch wrapped around it. "Ah! We'll be late if we stay and chat. And I promised Eiji I'd give him the directions to that store he wanted." Continuing to chat to himself, he walked down the street towards his original direction, followed by a quizzical expression from Asa. Kurumi tugged at her uniform sleeve and she snapped back to reality.

"I'm going! I'm going!" Then, for fear of getting hopelessly and utterly lost in the sprawling town known as Tokyo, she dashed after Fuji, her schoolbag swinging at her side, dark hair flying off her shoulders.

Kurumi glowered. "Wait up!" she cried and sprinted forward. Poor Narumi could only sigh. She could envision a lively family life from now on. Kurumi's upbeat personality just did not mix that well with Asa's more refined one. _Oh, how confusing,_ she moaned to herself as she plodded forward, determined to show some level of maturity on her part. After all, someone had to show it.

***

"Good morning, Eiji!" Fuji said brightly as he slid into his seat besides the window. He had made it with two minutes to spare, partly thanks to the fact that he had thrown his schoolbag into his locker, sprinted to the tennis locker room to deposit his tennis bag there, then sprinted back to get to his classroom. Of course, being the tensai he was, not a trace of fatigue crossed his features. It would have looked like he had simply come back from a leisurely stroll, if people strolled leisurely around school.

"Morning, Fujiko." Eiji yawned loudly and moved from where he was standing in front of the window, plopping down into his seat with a loud thud. It went without saying that he was not a morning person.

Fuji reached into his folder and extracted a slip of paper. "Ne, Eiji. Here are the directions to shop you wanted to go to." He slid the paper onto his classmate's desk and the energetic redhead pounced on it, indigo blue eyes shining.

"Wah! Thank you so, so, so much Fujiko-chan!" Said redhead yelled happily for all in the classroom to hear and then promptly launched himself forward to glomp Fuji. "How about we go right after practice?" he said when he let go of his death grip on the genius. "That way, I don't have to pay for Ochibi's and Momo's burgers. They're making all my allowance money shrink; I was saving it to buy something nice – nya!" He continued whining in his special way for which Fuji could only smile at. It was always nice to have Eiji as a friend.

However, he never got the chance to reply as the teacher strode into the classroom and up to her desk. The class quieted down and sat attentively, although Eiji fairly quivered with excitement. "Today we have a new student who has transferred here from Osaka," the teacher announced after she had hailed them all a good morning. Blunt and to the point like always, Fuji noted, resting his chin on his hands. The classroom door slid open and Asa walked in to stand next to the teacher, who turned around and wrote 'Ijuuin Asa' on the chalkboard. "This is Ijuuin Asa-chan. Your seat will be behind Fuji-kun, the boy in the second to last row by the window." Fuji gave a faint wave of his hand to accentuate his position, and she walked forward to sit down.

"Sa… who knew we were in the same class?" Fuji asked lightly as the teacher then proceeded to write the lesson on the board. English lessons; he had forgotten his dictionary at home and was now mentally berating himself on his carelessness. He had stayed up late the night before to talk to Yuuta, much to his younger brother's annoyance.

She shrugged. "Who knew?" she echoed back, taking a look at the board and then extracting a new dictionary from her bag. It was heavy; there were too many English words to know.

And so her first day of class flew through in a tirade of classes, most of which was spent with her hurriedly scribbling notes onto any scrap of paper she had. When the bell rang for the end of school, she heaved a sigh of relief and stood. Fuji and Eiji were walking out the door so she slid out into the hall after them, turning in the opposite direction to head to the principal's office. Glancing out the window, she had a view of the tennis courts and smiled slightly. Seigaku had a strong tennis team. She would love to see them practice one day.

Her eyes wandered over to a clock placed conveniently between two classroom doors and she nearly dropped her bag in horror. "I'm late!" she squeaked and shot down the hall, disregarding the rule of no running in the halls. Her father had always said that first impressions count towards your overall person.

_I need to invest in a wristwatch,_ she whined to herself as she turned the corner. And then stopped. _Oh, crap._ She had just realized that she had no idea of how to get to the principal's office.


	3. Chapter 2

**_Chapter 2_**

Eiji did a back somersault as he shot after a little yellow ball. Ryuzaki-sensei had designated that day to be doubles practice, so naturally that meant that she was trying out various possible doubles combinations against the Eiji and Oishi pair. This, of course, meant that Eiji was determined not to lose while doing practice at his own home courts. After all, he was a part of Seigaku's Golden Pair, wasn't he? Even if he did hold Oishi down at times.

"There it is! Kikumaru-senpai's acrobatics!" The freshmen trio plus one Ryuzaki Sakuno and one Osakada Tomoko cheered excitedly as Eiji finished his somersault and landed with a laugh and 'Hoi, hoi!' looking quite proud of himself.

"Good job, Eiji!" Oishi said enthusiastically as he slapped high fives with his doubles partner. On the other side of the net, Fuji and Taka-san were busy plotting how to get past the Eiji's acrobatic maneuvers and Oishi's strict guard in the back of the court.

"Here's the next ball, nya!" Eiji said happily as he served the ball over the net. It was returned easily enough by Fuji, who was stationed besides the net, his trademark smile ever present on his face. He was still playing around, not in the least bit too serious, Ryuzaki Sumire noted with a sigh. What would it take besides Tezuka or Echizen to make him 100% serious? She could only wonder.

"BURNING!" Taka-san roared as his two hands gripped the handle of his racket in a death grip and he stepped forward. The shot immediately following his outburst was the powerful two-handed Hadoukyuu, except it didn't go where it was supposed to. Oishi had put an abnormal spin to the ball, so the Hadoukyuu had been redirected, with the same amount of destructive power, up and over the fencing surrounding the courts.

And the one who had the pleasure of walking right by the courts was Asa, having found another girl who had taken pity on her and led her to the principal's office, where the old man had succeeded to give her another three large manila folders. Their contents she could only guess at, although she figured it had to do with makeup schedules when she had to leave school for hospital visits, since as soon as she had entered and stated her name he had said: 'We've worked very hard and managed to make a schedule to accommodate your special needs.' She had cringed inside when he had said that, feeling like a freak. So now she was walking with the other girl and thanking her when her eyes flashed to the ball heading straight for them, followed by a warning from half of the members of the boy's tennis team.

"Watch out!" Fuji's eyes had snapped open and Taka-san's jaw had dropped in shock as they watched the ball. It was going too fast for anyone to even have a chance to run up to block it with another racket, and the only ones who could come close to returning or blocking Taka-san's Hadoukyuu was he and Momo, both of which could move not even an inch at that point in time.

She had stopped to a rigid halt and the ball smashed into the billboard in front of her. Her companion uttered a strangled shriek and both girls turned to face the courts. Taka, having lost his grip on the tennis racket that was his source of burning power, instantly ran over, apologizing.

"It's alright; no one was hurt, right?" Asa asked lightly, trying to calm the power player.

Her companion was less than happy. "What do you mean it's alright?" she fairly shrieked. They winced; she was quite loud. "We could have gotten hit… or, or…!"

"Yeah, but we weren't, were we?" She fell silent when Asa flashed a radiant smile, tugging at her arm as she murmured about treating her to an ice-cream while handing the tennis ball back to a flustered Taka. "Sorry for causing a disruption," Asa apologized to Fuji, Eiji, and Oishi who had come up to join them. "Did we take away too much practice time?" She looked genuinely worried.

Oishi, being who he was, instantly kicked in to reassure the girl. "No, not at all!" the fuku-buchou of the Seigaku team said hurriedly. He glanced at Tezuka, who offered the world's tiniest nod (it was nearly impossible to see his head move at all, Asa noted). Ryuzaki-sensei nodded as well, and Oishi pushed on. "In fact, we were just about to end. Today was simply a bit of doubles practice."

She sighed, and then perked up. "That's good. I'd hate to interrupt practice." Turning to the girl besides her, she murmured a soft, "Let's go," and they headed out the school gates.

Tezuka called everyone in and dismissed them for the day, and the regulars dispersed to head to the changing room while the freshmen picked up. Eiji was excited, bouncing up and down as he entered the room and pulled out his school uniform from his cubby. Fuji's regular smile widened slightly; his friend obviously was excited about going to that store. And indeed, three minutes later he was dressed and ready to go, waiting impatiently for Fuji to finish changing as well.

"Nya, Fujiko-chan!" he whined. "Couldn't you hurry up? Please?" Fuji emitted a low chuckle and stood from the bench, brushing a few stray bangs of his auburn hair from his smiling eyes.

"I'm ready. Let's go."

A "Yahoo!" tore itself from Eiji's throat and he careened out the door, fairly blazing a trail in the asphalt paved path as he shot out the gates. "We wish you luck, Fuji-senpai," Momo said with mock seriousness as Fuji left to follow the energetic redhead. He stopped briefly in the doorway with a nod and then proceeded on.

When both boys had left, Momo turned to Oishi. "Ne, Oishi-senpai," he began, "just exactly what store did Eiji-senpai want to visit?"

Oishi blinked in surprise, then shrugged, letting out a breath that said 'I don't know.' "Wherever he's going, I'm sure Fuji will take care of him," he said confidently, putting the last of his stuff away.

***

"Pet store?" Asa echoed as she looked up at the board with the store name painted on it with bright blue letters. Her invitation to ice-cream had turned into an all-out tour of the immediate area around the school, which included all the parks and stores. This went without saying that she was exhausted from running around everywhere after her excitable companion, who she learned was a second year. _Where does that put me, I wonder?_

"Of course!" The girl whirled around to look at her like what she had just said was the stupidest thing in the world, which Asa did have to admit, was pretty stupid. "It's a new store that just opened last week," the second-year proceeded to explain, almost as if talking to a five year-old. "They've just got a new litter of kittens yesterday, and I've wanted to see them for a while. Do you like cats? I think they're cute." She continued talking as she walked into the shop, and Asa was going to follow had her name not been called from someone behind her.

"Ijuuin-chan! You're here, too!" Turning, she came face to face with Kikumaru Eiji, who was waving madly with his usual happy grin. Following close behind him was Fuji.

"Oh, hi, Kikumaru-san, Fuji-san," she said politely as the two boys came up to her.

"Ah, so this was the store you wanted to come to, Eiji," Fuji said lightly as he looked up at the sign. "I should have known that it had something to do with animals."

Eiji nodded enthusiastically. "I wanted to see the kittens!" he said. "Hopefully, my mom will let me get a cat."

Fuji chuckled lightly. "Somehow, I don't see that happening," he said sweetly, making Eiji droop in disappointment. Although a few seconds later, he perked up.

"Nya! It's nice to see them, anyway!" And then he proceeded to dash into the store. The bell attached on top of it jangled in a pleasant noise as it opened. Fuji openly laughed and followed, holding the door and giving a slight inclination of his head for her to go first. She did, and he shut the door after them, the bell jingling merrily behind them.

"I'll be with you in just a few moments!" A man behind the counter spoke up without even looking up. A squirming puppy was on that counter and he was trying to coax a few drops of milk into its mouth.

Asa's eyes fairly shone as they swept over the shelves jammed with colorful goods. _I'll get Seika something,_ she decided, digging with a hand in her schoolbag for some money. _What should I get her?_ Her cat was quite picky with toys.

Fuji had trailed after her as she moved to the aisle where various styles of cat toys were on display. "Ijuuin-chan has a cat?" he asked when she picked up a toy and then put it down.

She blinked in surprise, turning her head to face him with a quizzical expression on her face. A short nod came from her. "Yeah, her name is Seika. I got her when I entered junior high school. She's the best." She selected a cat toy which looked suspiciously like a tennis ball. "This one will do," she announced as she headed to the counter. The man had finished feeding his puppy, as the canine was now a fluffy ball curled up on a chair with a comfy cushion to lie on.

"That will be 200 yen," he said, and she dug out the money and handed it to him.

"May I see it?" Fuji asked suddenly when the bag with the toy was handed back to her, and she handed it over. "Tennis ball, eh?" he asked, faintly intrigued. It was the first time he had seen a cat toy shaped like that.

"Oh? Fujiko bought something?" Eiji bounced up and pounced on his classmate. "What is it? What is it? Oh… it's a tennis ball." He sounded faintly disappointed.

"Iie, I didn't buy this. Ijuuin-chan bought it for her cat."

Eiji glanced over in interest. "You have a cat? Can I see it?" Asa blinked again; wasn't this a little early? They had just met, after all.

"I'm afraid that will be rather… difficult," she squeaked out.

Eiji sighed. "It's just one disappointment after another today," he grumbled. Fuji and Asa both couldn't think of anything to say to this statement, but ended up not having to as Fuji glanced at the clock and stated:

"It's getting late; we had better get going. Is your companion coming with us, Ijuuin-chan?"

"Narohigu-chan, are you coming with us?" she asked the girl who helped her find the principal's office.

The second-year turned around with a grin. "Nope. I live nearby, so it shouldn't be a problem for me to leave later." She stood with a coal-black kitten in her arms. "Just remember, Ijuuin-senpai, if you ever need any help after school, I'm usually around the halls."

"Ah, I'll keep that in mind. Thank you."

***

"Who knew we lived on the same street?" Fuji asked lightly as he walked next to Asa on their way home. Having passed a vendor who was selling ice-cream, the two of them plus one Kikumaru Eiji had decided to buy a cone each. Too much sugar is bad for you, she had thought, so she had declined to buy one, only to have Fuji buy her a cone instead. His reasoning? "Making new friends are a good excuse to treating yourself to extra sugar, ne?" To say the least, it was kind of strange, but seeing as he had already bought it and she couldn't return it, she had taken it.

She licked her ice-cream half-heartedly and replied, "Who knew?"

This phrase induced a small chuckle from the boy walking besides her. "You enjoy using that phrase, don't you?"

She shrugged. "I suppose." The truth was that she didn't know how else to answer him. He was being friendly, she knew, but it just felt… awkward in a sense. She had never been blessed with the best social skills, she would admit. Sometimes being around people made her nervous, too. Her father had joked and said that that meant that she needed to get out more. Her doctors said that it was just a phase that she'd grow out of. And she?

She blamed herself for her lack of social skills. She was afraid of people finding out about her secret and then leaving her alone. A childish fear, she knew, but she was terribly afraid of being left alone.

Heaving a sigh, she almost crashed into Fuji, as the boy had stopped suddenly on the sidewalk. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's nothing," he murmured. "I… just remembered something, that's all."

"Am I taking too much of your time?" Asa asked worriedly. She barged on before he could open his mouth to protest. "If I am, you can just go ahead of me. I know this street, so I won't get lost."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry for making you forget whatever it was you had to do."

Fuji looked slightly embarrassed at this. "If you're sure, I'll go now." Her head bobbed up and down and he offered one last apology as he turned and ran down the street. How could he have forgotten that Yuuta was coming back for a visit today? He was getting forgetful.

Asa watched his retreating back and felt a smile tug at her lips. He was certainly rather interesting, she would give him that much. Continuing her walk, she finished off the rest of her ice-cream cone and licked her sticky fingers. "I'm home!" she announced to an empty house when she stepped into the front hall. Her eyes instantly fell on the whiteboard placed on the wall not too far from the front door. "Take Seika to the vet," was written in black dry erase marker. She reached the conclusion that they had all gone, seeing as both Kurumi's and Narumi's backpacks were lying at the base of the stairs. Although, honestly, she didn't think three people, four at the most, needed to go to see Seika to the vet. It wasn't like the cat was going to claw anyone.

Hopefully.

A hurriedly scribbled footnote was written underneath the vet entrance on the board, and she kicked off her shoes, slipping her feet into the house slippers to get a better look at it. "We'll be late running errands. I'm afraid you'll have to settle with making dinner for yourself."

"Ah, I see," she mumbled under her breath as she went upstairs, setting her schoolbag down on her desk. Why her? She was lazy; her father should have known that. _What do we have, anyway?_

She was digging through the refrigerator and frowning. They didn't have a lot, it seemed. She _did_ find a package of dried soba noodles, though. _Do we have any sauce?_ She pawed deeper in the fridge until she found it, a small dish of leftover tsuyu. That was all she could find that didn't require too much time to prepare. Her massive amount of English homework was enough to make her gag and she just wanted to grab a bite and then tackle all those words.

_Zaru soba it is, then,_ she decided, setting a pot of water to boil on the stove. When the water started boiling, she added enough of the soba noodles to satisfy her and then tucked the rest securely away. Grabbing another, smaller pot, she filled it with cold water, transferring the boiled noodles to the cold water as soon as they were ready.

"Itadakimasu!" she murmured when she had cleaned up and sat down at the table to eat. _Hmm… it would taste better if I had more things to_ _sprinkle on it,_ she thought as she slurped up the noodles. When she had finished, she deposited the dishes in the sink to wash. Her bowl washed and dried and tucked into the dishwasher, she trudged upstairs to tackle her English homework.

_Three paragraphs in English aren't so bad,_ she thought as she sat at her desk, extracting a clean sheet of paper and her dictionary. _It could have been worse._

An hour later, the front door clicked open when the rest of the Ijuuin clan returned home. Seika, thoroughly unhappy with the trip to the vet, immediately shot upstairs. Asa's door was slightly ajar, so the cat squeezed in through the crack, leaping up onto the unoccupied bed with a grumpy "mrrow." Hunched over the desk, her owner stirred but didn't wake up. Seika curled up into a tight, fluffy ball on the pillow, and in time her occasional meows turned into satisfied purrs. The last of the lights in the house were turned off as the twins headed off to bed and their parents did whatever it was that they did.

Night brought peace to the house,

Of course, that was until the alarm clock rang early the next morning.


	4. Chapter 3

**_Chapter 3_**

Yuuta poked his head into his aniki's room, frowning when he noticed the elder Fuji brother's prone figure on the bed. Honestly, didn't he have any fear of suffocating himself on his pillow? It was dangerous, lying like that when you were sleeping. Of course, not that he cared or anything…

"Aniki, nee-san says you have to hurry. Don't you have practice this morning?" He asked this rather loudly, seeing as since his aniki was usually up before him (much as he tried to wake up earlier) for him to still be sleeping was very uncommon. "Aniki!" he snapped, finally letting go of his composure and pouncing on the bed. He was quite pleased when his brother shot up in surprise, uttering an incomprehensible sound as he did so. Fuji Yuuta smirked. Finally, he could get Syusuke to do something other than smile at him like he usually did.

"Yuuta, my back!" Fuji gasped. "You're a lot heavier than when we were in elementary school!" Then a faint laugh came from the elder brother. "Besides, isn't it awkward to find yourself in that position, Yuuta?"

Yuuta blinked in confusion, and then looked down at himself, only to let out a scandalized gasp. He was on his brother's back, true, the thing was, he was straddling his elder brother's slim waste between his legs. Instantly, he was on the floor, glowering at his brother, who had pulled himself up into a sitting position, rubbing his lower back with a hand. "You enjoyed that, didn't you?" he scowled, his glare becoming fiercer by the second.

Fuji's face adopted a look of mock hurt. "What do you mean?" he asked innocently as he climbed out of bed, walking over to his window to open the blinds. Sunlight instantly entered his room, illuminating the potted cacti on his bookshelf. "What was it that you wanted to say, again?" he asked when he turned back to his glowering younger brother, usual smile present on his face. "There must have been something; you usually don't come in here."

Yuuta was silent for a moment, having forgotten what he had originally intended to do. "Nee-san says you have to hurry it there is practice this morning," he finally stumbled out.

"Ah, of course," Fuji said amiably, heading for the door. "Are you coming, Yuuta?"

"Of course I'm coming, baka aniki!" Yuuta snapped as he stomped after Fuji. Yumiko glanced up from the table as her two younger brothers came into the kitchen, one with a bright smile and the other with a dark scowl.

"Good morning, Syusuke, Yuuta," she said brightly. "How was your night?"

Yuuta growled out, "Terrible," simply because if Fuji heard that he had a nice night he would try to convince him to come home more often. The truth? Yuuta enjoyed sleeping in his own bed compared to his bed at the dorm. It just felt more natural.

Fuji's smile got just a tad bit wider. "It was wonderful," he said happily, taking a piece of offered toast. "What time is it?" His face turned to the clock as he munched contently on his breakfast. Swallowing, he said, "Looks like I'll have to go, now. Thank you for breakfast, nee-san." Yumiko smiled as she watched her brother head out the door with his tennis bag slung over his shoulder.

The eldest Fuji child could simply smile in amusement as her youngest brother marched out the door after the middle Fuji, probably just to see if there was anything to see during morning practice. What he was going to do after that, she had no clue, but seeing him this excited could only mean that he was going to pop up over there again as soon as the bell for the end of the school day rang or slightly after. Perhaps, she, too, should have taken up tennis like them.

"Yumiko, you'll be late for work if you dawdle any longer," her mother chided gently. Fuji Yoshiko entered the room with a mug of coffee and a smile that was so very similar to that of Fuji Syusuke's.

Yumiko stood, taking her dishes to the sink. "Hai. I'll be running a few errands after work is over, so I might be late coming back," she explained as she picked up her purse and the keys to her car. Yoshiko simply nodded and bid her eldest daughter a fond farewell.

_I'll make Yuuta's favorite pumpkin curry for tonight's dinner,_ Fuji Yoshiko decided. It was rare that her youngest son decided to pay home a visit, although goodness knows what arguments the two brothers got into to get themselves into that position in the first place. _Ah, well._ That made these visits all the more precious.

And that was exactly how she liked it.

***

Unfortunately for Yuuta, morning tennis practice was cancelled due to heavy rain, so he had to leave the grounds of Seigaku to pursuit other interests. And, since he had failed to bring an umbrella with him, he was in a foul mood as he stalked away. However, the second-year perked up considerably when he considered that since he had the keys to the house (he always had one, just in case on one of those days he decided to give into his whims and go home to spend a night) and everyone was either at work or at school, he would spend the day alone in the house doing whatever he wanted. Not bad for compensation after getting rained on. A new spring entered his step as he marched down the street, the cold rain pelting his body and soaking him to the skin.

Likewise, his brother was soaked as well, having been playing a game against Echizen right before it started pouring. They had originally intended on finishing their first match, but it seemed that Kami-sama just refused to let that happen. So Fuji Syusuke bit back his disappointment by hiding behind his smile as he toweled his hair dry. The tennis team had opted to change in the school bathrooms instead of the usual locker room so as to avoid getting soaked again when attempting to enter the building.

"Ne, Tezuka," Fuji said brightly as he tucked his towel away into his locker. His captain gave him a faint glance to let him know he heard him. "Do you have your Japanese to English dictionary? I seem to have misplaced it somewhere." At this Tezuka's usually stoic face got just the slightest hint of emotion: one fine eyebrow arched up as if to say, 'You? Misplace something?' Fuji himself wanted to laugh as he reflected on his current position. Tezuka had been to his room once for a study session, and one of the first things he commented on was how neat and orderly it was organized. No doubt he was wondering how on earth Fuji could have misplaced such a thick book.

"I'm sorry, Fuji. We had a rather large assignment so I left mine at home. I've been finding that I leave stuff in my locker and forget to bring it home sometimes." Now it was Fuji's turn to arch an eyebrow. Tezuka? Forget something?

"Ah, so that makes two of us," he sighed lightly. "Thanks anyway, Tezuka. We had better get to class, now." It was getting late (a phrase he found to be quite ironic) and the bell was going to ring soon. Tezuka offered him a nod and the two parted ways, as Tezuka had to go to the chemistry room located in the opposite direction as Fuji's classroom. Sometimes the tensai thought that it was a pity that they weren't in the same class, but having Eiji as a classmate wasn't so bad, either.

_What am I going to do about the dictionary?_ Truthfully, he had scoured his room from top to bottom in an attempt to find it only to come to the conclusion that it was hopelessly, utterly lost. _Looks like I'll have to buy a new one._ He was disappointed, not because it cost a lot to buy a replacement dictionary (he could easily afford it with money he saved from his allowance), but since this was the first time he had lost something by having it vanish into thin air, he was disappointed in his memory. He just _knew_ it was somewhere in his house as he slid into his seat.

"What's wrong? You look really tense today, Fuji-san." Had his name not been pronounced like that, he would have assumed it was Eiji trying to get over not being able to let out his pent up energy in practice that morning. But since it wasn't the customary 'Fuji!' or 'Fujiko!' or even 'Fujiko-chan!', it couldn't have been his energetic best friend. It wasn't 'Fuji-sama!' either, so he felt he was relatively safe from his legions of fans, both genders included. They did nothing to hide the fact either, resulting in hordes of adoring fans after tennis matches when most of the time all he wanted to do was be alone when he went to get a drink. "Fuji-san…?"

He looked up to find himself face to face with Ijuuin Asa. Her hand had moved slightly forward with the preparation to wave in front of his face, and since she had not expected that, his head collided with it. He was silent for a moment, the side of his head still smarting from the collision even if it wasn't a big one, before asking, "What?" in as sweet a voice as possible.

She cleared her throat nervously; the glares of the female population in their classroom were burning into her back. They were so devious that even Eiji had started praying under his breath to Kami-sama that no mass catfight ensued, which would ultimately lead to the boys being dragged into it as well and more than a few bruises as prizes for participating. "You're in my seat, Fuji-san," she stated meekly.

He blinked, and then looked down at his desk before sweeping his closed eyes over the row, counting the number of tables. Almost immediately he realized that, indeed, he had sat one seat behind his normal seat when he had let his mind drift from lost dictionaries to sometimes annoying fans. Hastily, he stood. "Gomen, Ijuuin-chan," he murmured politely before moving himself back to his regular seat. Behind him, he could hear her ask Eiji if this happened normally. The redhead answered back, and then all chances of talking were cut off as the teacher entered the room. Fuji did, however, reflect on how well the two of them were getting along for only their second day of knowing each other. _Eiji is like that,_ he concluded with a more genuine smile.

Class ended only with the lunch bell, which Fuji found himself quite relieved. It was strange, as normally he _did_ enjoy his classes, even if he knew most of what was being taught. The storm had passed, and streaks of sunlight were starting to break out through a thin layer of clouds. As soon as he stood he was grabbed by Eiji and dragged outside, the redhead babbling on about eating on the rooftop. He tried to protest, saying that their customary lunch table was perfect as it was, but he would hear none of it.

"Besides," Eiji added with a cheeky grin, "I told Ijuuin-chan you had a sweet spot for honey and anything with honey into it." There was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes that was much more intense than usual that did not go unnoticed, even if the genius had been spacing out for the majority of the morning.

In fact, Fuji's jaw dropped so that his mouth formed a perfect 'o'. "You… what…?" he stuttered out as his friend continued to drag him along the halls.

Eiji's entire body was fairly quivering with mirth as Fuji could just stare at him stupidly. Those bright blue eyes that were so rarely shown had opened wide as he waited for a response. "Well, how should I put it, nya?" Eiji asked happily. "Ijuuin-chan was worried because she heard rumors that you were a tensai, and that you were normally perfect, and so on so forth. Your fans are quite informative!" Inwardly, Fuji cringed. Outwardly, his face adopted a thoughtful expression as he faked that he was processing all of this information.

"She wanted to cheer you up after you sat in the wrong seat. Something about people doing strange things a little thing in their normal life gets altered or something like that," Eiji had continued on. By now he had dragged Fuji up to the fourth floor, which held all the staff lounges and conference rooms. Eiji bounced up the final flight of stairs to the roof, and because Fuji was still attached to Eiji via linked hands, he had no choice but to bounce with him, much as he disliked it. "And then I said that you liked honey and she offered to have lunch with us. Simple." The way Eiji sounded so sure of himself, a tone Fuji had when a particular blackmailing feat was successful, made him doubt that it was as simple as the acrobatic player said it was. In fact, Fuji was wary when they reached the top of the stairs and Eiji pushed the door open. Sunlight immediately illuminated the hallway and Fuji had to blink several times in order for his eyes to adjust.

The roof was a small square structure surrounded by a wire mesh fence. On one side was a set of stone benches; the rest of the roof was bare. Fuji remembered once when he and Eiji were freshmen, they had come up to the rooftop to eat lunch and had found a small potted plant flowering, a solirary living creature on an silent field of concrete. Or whatever the top of the roof was made out of. The plant had long since been removed, and although he hated to think this, Fuji thought that it had probably died as well, with no one to care for it. Since then, no new plant had appeared, although he amused himself faintly by entertaining the thought that one day it would appear again. Now, the only living thing was a girl sitting on the bench, her head turned over her shoulder as she stared off into the distance. A neatly wrapped bento was besides her, although she seemed to have forgotten all about it. A closer inspection of her face would reveal a confused look, but since neither boy looked closely at it, they didn't notice.

"Ijuuin-chan!" Eiji yelled excitedly, hurtling through the door with one Fuji Syusuke in tow. "Let's get started!" Eiji plopped down next to her bento, pulling out both his and Fuji's lunch as well. _Since when had Eiji been able to get into my locker?_ It was just one surprise after another.

And Fuji knew definitely that he should have found some other way to pass his lunch period.


	5. Chapter 4

**_Chapter 4_**

An awkward silence ensued in which Fuji could think of nothing to say, nothing at all. Eiji, being Eiji, had already started munching on his lunch by the time one of the others found their voices. "I heard Fuji-san likes honey?" Asa asked, turning her head to look at him; eyes raking over his face.

When one first looks at Fuji Syusuke, it is almost immediately noted by even the painfully oblivious of people his tranquil and serene face. His slender build leaned more on the delicate, feminine side, but he was not lacking muscle, courtesy of tennis. His brown hair fell in a gentle wave down his forehead, framing his face. He wasn't what some would call strictly "handsome," simply because of his original build. But then again, it did not seem correct to call him simply "beautiful," either, which was why around school he was simply coined as "good looking" or, on more extreme cases for the more serious of fans, "a pleasant feast for the eyes."

Similarly, Fuji was regarding Ijuuin Asa with an unreadable gaze, sharp blue eyes closing back into their usual smiling lines. If there was to be a beauty pageant held at Seishun Academy, she definitely would not be the winner, he decided by ways of conclusion. While one wouldn't call her "ugly" she was plain, the kind of normal girl you'd see and then forget later. To help in that process was the fact that her face was devoid of any make-up, as opposed to most of the other third year girls. Her skin was light, her face always slightly paler than normal due to her illness, blue eyes set into them with the ability to pull and drag you in when you looked at them until you felt like you were drowning. Truth be told, she looked like she could break at any moment. Almost like a porcelain doll.

Remembering her question, he nodded, taking a seat next to Eiji, who handed him his lunch by way of shoving it in his chest. "Ah, I was always told that honey was the only sweet thing I would willingly eat in large quantities when I was little," he said lightly. It would have been an understatement to say that it did not worry his mother immensely when he was younger; especially when Yuuta was going through a phase of copying everything he did, ultimately resulting in his little brother having a cavity and having to visit the dentist. "If I remember correctly, it's gotten me into quite a bit of trouble," he said amiably as he unwrapped his bento.

"I see." Another period of awkward silence, in which was filled only with silent chewing. "Ne, Kikumaru-san," she suddenly piped up.

"Just call me Eiji, nya!" Eiji mumbled around a mouthful of his rice ball.

"E-eiji… san," she stuttered, clearly not used to the request. Brushing it aside, she continued on. "What do you like?"

Eiji's head shot up, the indigo eyes wide in surprise. "Me?" he asked, pointing at himself after popping the rest of his rice ball into his mouth and swallowing it. "I like chocolate!" he stated happily, and flashed a big grin. Fuji had a feeling that the redhead had this all planned out, only because he knew him so well and how the acrobatic player surrounded himself with an air of innocent mystery, if such a thing was even possible.

Asa grinned back. "I'll remember that," she promised, and he looked like a satisfied cat, although Fuji wondered why Asa would even be asking this, or why Eiji had felt it necessary to reveal his sweet tooth.

He got an answer soon. "My mother took me over to the Ijuuin's house the other day right after dinner," he explained patiently. "She works as a client for her mother, and they had some kind of business transaction thing to do."

Fuji raised an eyebrow. "And your mother willingly brought you along?" It sounded like it was important, and normally important transactions were done without the use of accompanying children.

Eiji looked sheepish. "Well, I kind of made an excuse," he said, giving a vague wag of his hand. "But…!" here he wagged a finger in front of Fuji's face while looking dead serious. "Aa-chan is a really good cook."

"Oh, I get it now. You went for free food?"

A moment's silence, then, "Maybe..." Fuji's eyebrow rose higher as he waited for his friend to elaborate. Such as explaining to him just how all of this connected with the other things. "I asked Aa-chan if she'd bake something to cheer you up," he finally relented, shrinking back slightly when Fuji didn't immediately respond. Was his friend planning some kind of sadistic comeback to his plan?

Kami-sama must have taken a liking to Eiji that day, because Fuji wasn't planning some sort of sadistic comeback. Not yet, at least. "You… use a pet name already?" he asked slowly, the gears of his mind turning as he processed everything. Somehow, when words came out of a serious Kikumaru Eiji's mouth, it was harder to understand than when he was his usual happy self.

Eiji blinked, feeling slightly relieved that no sadistic smile had crept over his friend's face. "It just… kind of came out by itself," he mumbled. Indeed, Eiji took great liberties when it came to naming people. Echizen was 'Ochibi' for the most part, although one week Eiji had felt inspired and had tried all sorts of new names, all of which had annoyed the tennis prince to no end. Same with Fuji's own pet name of Fujiko, which had been made one rainy day when the third-years had decided to have a study session at Oishi's house and Eiji had become bored with mathematics.

Fuji nodded, deciding that that was probably the best explanation he would get as of yet. "Are you alright with it, Ijuuin-chan?" he asked. Although the pet name had a certain flow to it (he had to admit he liked the way it simply rolled off the tongue), he felt that he didn't know the girl well enough to call her anything but 'Ijuuin-chan.' Perhaps he could try next week or something. His sadistic side was just _dying_ to torture someone. Anyone.

Woe to anyone who would have the pleasantries of crossing his path in the next three days.

"It's fine. Kurumi wanted to bake cookies, anyways, so I'll experiment with the honey and the chocolate," she reassured the tensai, who gave a nod and settled back to finally finish his lunch.

The three of them finished with a good ten minutes until the bell would ring for afternoon classes to begin. Eiji took this time to tell Asa all about Fuji. All of his counters for tennis, his grades (how Eiji knew about that Fuji would never know), his personality, etc. Eiji took great pains to stress the sadistic side of said genius, to which he only offered a mysterious smile. To his surprise she didn't look too surprised, simply saying something along the lines of: 'No one's perfect. There are always one or two flaws.' So his darker half was a flaw; it was actually quite interesting.

And then Eiji launched himself into telling her about Fuji's past relationships. He winced; they didn't bring back particularly good memories. Such as the incident in the second-year of junior high in which he would forever swear that he made the worst mistake of his life. The girl was a member of the Chemistry Club who sat happened to sit in front him. She was cute, smart, and the school's 'queen.' And he had liked her, finally working up the courage to tell her what he felt one day shortly into the month of February. To which she had answered:

'I'm quite flattered, Fuji-san, except…'

She never did finish her explanation, but actions spoke louder than words, and a senior had walked up and pulled her protectively towards him. Taken. Just his luck. And it was even worse that the senior was on the tennis team and enjoyed finding any way to ridicule him, usually not in the form of an actual tennis match in which Fuji could beat him easily, but in other ways. Most involved getting around the fuku-buchou at that time, in which he would then be assigned mass amounts of laps (it was a common misconception that only the buchou could assign laps. Oishi was just too kind to do it, so Tezuka was the one who dished them all out).

Unfortunately for the senior, it ultimately led to good results in the upcoming ranking matches, earning Fuji a spot on the Regulars before Seigaku was beaten in the District Finals.

The experience didn't end in total disaster, he mused, but still, he would prefer Eiji didn't blabber on about it. He did have pride, after all.

"You don't look very well, nya!"

Two pairs of eyes shifted to her face, which had paled. Her hands had reached behind her to grip at the mesh fencing. A weak smile, "I'm fine, Kikumaru-san." Eiji pouted but didn't correct her, because a puzzled look had stole across her face.

_There's…_ She counted again, wavering images dancing before her eyes as her lungs constricted, trying to force needed oxygen into her system. This was common, but she hadn't had one of these 'attacks' since last month so she had been hopeful that she wouldn't embarrass herself too much in her new school. _There's three of each…!_ Having finished her counting, which was difficult because each image kept moving from side to side (because both boys had moved closer, eyeing her with concern), and had reached the final analysis that there were now apparently three Kikumaru Eijis and three Fuji Syusukes.

The tip of her tongue poked out of her mouth to lick dry lips. "I'm fine," she repeated again, in a futile attempt to reassure them. She didn't have to see them to know she failed.

The three Eijis turned to the three Fujis, saying, "Aa-chan doesn't look well." There was no 'nya' after his sentence; she faintly registered this as she pushed herself up, still gripping the fence, formulating an escape plan. She had to make it to the clinic without passing out. Simple. Go down three floors, across half the school, then talk to the nurse and call her father to see when the next scheduled doctor's appointment was.

Piece of cake.

"Where are you going, Aa-chan?" The three Eijis were bouncing in front of her, and she squeezed her eyes shut in order to give as level a response as she could possibly muster up.

"I'm going to the clinic."

"We'll walk you, then," came the wavering voice of the three Fujis. She wanted to say 'no,' say that she was perfectly fine with navigating her shaking self down the three flights of stairs, but couldn't do it. Now came the throbbing pain in her chest, and she glowered, angry at herself. This was only supposed to happen when she played sports, wasn't it? It wasn't supposed to happen now, when she had done nothing but sit on a bench.

She moved forward, and instantly regretted it. The world tipped dangerously and then she found herself pitching forward, testing out the forces of gravity for herself. Like any other extremely embarrassed person, she wished the ground would suddenly open up; send her crashing down to the ground floor.

And like any other embarrassed person would experience, the ground did not open up. She did not crash down three stories to hit the ground floor. She did, however, land on something much softer and warmer than the ground, feel something wrap around her waist, before cursing herself and her stupid luck and then surrendering to the folds of darkness.

***

"Where are Fuji-kun and Kikumaru-kun?" The teacher looked around her classroom with raised eyebrows as she surveyed her class. The far left corner was empty, a detail that was easily noted once everyone had settled down back in their seats. Instantly, hushed murmurs broke out, which was silenced by one of the teacher's famous glares. "Answer me directly, or don't talk at all," she snapped. "Now, where are—"

The classroom door slid open, revealing Eiji. The boy didn't wear his usual smile, instead, looked at the floor in front of him with a troubled gaze. "Sorry I'm late," he mumbled.

The teacher blinked, silent, then recollected her composure. "Welcome back, Kikumaru-kun," she said briskly. She held out a hand in an imperious manner, palm to the ceiling. "Do you have a late pass?"

Eiji didn't seem to hear her, for he was silent for a few seconds, so when she began to repeat herself he suddenly sprang back to life. "Yea! I forgot to ask for a late pass, nya!" he screeched in shock, looking mortified. What kind of pain awaited him in detention? He shuddered to think about it; their teacher was rumored to be extremely harsh to students staying after for detention.

"Eiji? What are you doing screaming in the hallway?"

"Oh?" Eiji turned around to see Fuji, who was standing with a strained smile on his face. "Oh, Fuji. Why are you here? How's Aa-chan?"

"The nurse kicked me out. Aa—Ijuuin-chan is awake, but the nurse is keeping her in the clinic for a while, still." The pet name just begged to slip out of his mouth, he realized with a frown. Normally he wouldn't have really minded, it would make good teasing material, after all, but he had a strange gut feeling that Eiji was just waiting for him to use it. And then finding some way to embarrass him using his own happy-go-lucky attitude, the way Fuji himself terrorized the people he didn't like with his sadistic little schemes. It's hard to think of which he would rather suffer by: Eiji's happily deadly schemes or his own sadistic ones. "I have Eiji's late pass as well as mine, sensei," he said, taking out two small slips of paper with writing crammed onto it.

Eiji breathed a sigh of relief; he was saved, for now. "Thanks," he uttered out of the side of his mouth as he fell into his chair. Fuji simply nodded, dropping the paper slips into the teacher's hand.

"Thank you, Fuji-kun," she said curtly, skimming them over and then throwing them into the wastepaper basket. "Now, what about Ijuuin-chan?" A dangerously sweet smile crossed her lips. "You two wouldn't happen to know where she is, do you?"

Fuji was in absolutely no mood for playing mind games with the teacher. Normally, he'd enjoy spinning some sort of never-ending web of words, in which the teacher would eventually become hopelessly lost in his story and then beg for him just to spit out the information. It brought him much satisfaction to take in the flustered face, the overly bright eyes, and the faint quaver of the voice. No one lasted long before an attack by Fuji Syusuke. "Ijuuin-chan is in the clinic," he said flatly, sitting at his desk.

Stunned silence reined the classroom for a brief period of time. It was only broken by the clicking of high heeled shoes as the teacher made her way to the phone, punching in the numbers to the school clinic. A few exchanged words, then she hung up, looking slightly paler than she had when she picked up the device. "Well, that settles that," she said simply. "Ijuuin-chan may be joining us again shortly before the day ends. If and when she returns, due to politness, we will ask _nothing. Absolutely nothing_." That dangerous glare swept across the room, and there were faint nods of acknowledgement.

Fuji just pulled out a few books and opened them, concentrating on copying down the lesson, mind focusing on a topic totally different from his math.

***

_The nurse looked up when the door slid open, smile ready on her face. Probably just a few scrapes and bruises; nothing too serious ever happened at Seigaku. So her surprise and shock was clearly evident when a for-once silent Eiji ushered in Fuji, who was carrying a girl, into the clinic. "There's three," came the faintest murmur from the not fully conscious figure in the boy's arms. "There were never three before…"_

_"What happened?" she asked, instantly herding Fuji and Eiji into the adjourning room where several beds were situated. "Put her down. Did she faint?" No one had fainted on school grounds in a long time. And she was puzzled; that day wasn't particularly warm, simply mild. Tokyo, Japan was experiencing some rather nice weather lately._

_"Her face paled and then she passed out," Fuji said automatically._

_"Name?"_

_"Ijuuin Asa." This time Eiji spoke, looking worried as he hovered by the bed. "She'll be alright, right?" he asked anxiously._

_The nurse had already bustled out of the room, returning moments later with an impressively fat folder. Fuji's eyebrow rose in question when the nurse sat down at a chair, using her lap as a table, if not a very small one. "Her file," was the brisk reply. "All medical history is recorded here by the doctors. Do you two know her well?" She glanced up and searched their faces with her dark eyes._

_Fuji fidgeted slightly under her gaze. "Not too well," he admitted. "But is it serious?" He was genuinely worried, the nurse found with a satisfied smile as she finished scrutinizing his face._

_"The file simply states it as congenital heart disease," the nurse said, glancing down at the fat little folder._

_Fuji frowned, while Eiji simply looked horror-stricken. "Isn't that not so bad?" he asked. "I mean," he added hastily, after thinking about what he had said and deeming that it had come out in the wrong sense, "aren't most people with it not like this most of the time?" He gestured to the bed, and she sighed. Fuji wasn't a genius for nothing, that was for sure. "And aren't correction surgeries available as well?"_

_Shuffling the papers and then returning them to their little folder, she heaved a sigh. "It's not just that, it seems. She was born with a weaker heart than the average person, and coupled with the hole; it seems to cause more problems than to an average person with just congenital heart disease." Fuji frowned again, about to say something, but she held up a hand and he wisely remained silent. "Weak hearts themselves should not be too much of a problem, but in extreme cases where it is exceptionally weak, they are. I believe that the current plan is that in early June she will undergo a correction surgery for the atrial septal defect, and if that is successful they will do a more in depth study of the rest of her problems."_

_Eiji looked even more horrified at this point and Fuji looked pleasantly confused. A shifting in the bed turned their attention to it, and Asa blinked awake, frowning at the ceiling. Eiji breathed a sigh of relief, exclaiming, "You're awake, nya!"_

_A weak smile answered him as the girl pushed herself up. The nurse made no movement to help her, but she still managed on her own. "Ijuuin-chan," she said briskly, standing up. Asa's eyes found the fat folder in her hands, and her gaze shifted from Fuji and Eiji to the nurse, expressionless. "Are you feeling better?" The onslaught of questions began as the nurse whipped out a notebook and pen. "Were you sick with a fever or cold lately? Has anything happened in your life currently that would cause you stress?" On and on this went, with Fuji and Eiji hovering around the bed._

_When Asa finished answering the questions (She was feeling much better, thank you. She had not been sick lately. She had just moved here, and was currently in an unpacking frenzy, so yes, she supposed that could be stressful.) she turned to Fuji and Eiji. "Gomen," she mumbled. "It hasn't happened in a while; I'm sorry if I worried you two."_

_Eiji grinned at her while Fuji started his own bout of questions. "Is it just congenital heart disease?" he asked bluntly. She looked mortified for a second before recollecting herself, shaking her head in defeat. "Ah… you'll have to be very careful, then. Make sure you get a lot of rest and drink lots of fluids." Eiji simply stared at him; since when had Fuji become the doctor? That was Oishi's job._

_The nurse stood and began to shoo them out of the door. "Let her rest a bit. Go on back to class. I'll write late passes for you two." The door to the room which housed the beds clicked shut, and she buried her drew her knees to her chest, leaning her forehead against it._

_There was no more need for pretending._

***

"Fuji, you don't seem to be with us today."

Fuji glanced up from where he was setting down dishes, working with a painstaking patience in arranging and rearranging them as he thought. He was back home, in his kitchen, and both his mother and his sister were regarding him with open concern. Yuuta was on the couch in the living room, flipping idly through channels on the TV as he listened in on the conversation in the living room. Yoshiko had let Yuuta keep watching whatever program he had found, saying that he needed time to unwind since he was always at the dorms. "He should enjoy his time back," she had said, and Fuji and Yumiko had wholeheartedly agreed.

"Are you sure you're not falling ill?" Fuji Yoshiko asked worriedly as she automatically reached up to feel his forehead. "You don't seem to have a fever…" She trailed off and smiled faintly when Fuji fully closed his eyes, letting out a tiny sigh and pressing gently against her hand. When was the last time he had done that? Her memory said second grade. "You've grown up too fast," she joked lightly. A ghost of a smile crossed his face as she moved away to bring the food to the table, calling for Yuuta as she did so.

The four Fuji's were seated at their tables and had already started eating when the doorbell rang. Yumiko stood up to get it while exchanging curious glances with her younger brothers and mother.

"Can I help you?" she asked when she answered the door. Her brow rose in surprise; since when had they had girls as visitors to their house?

Asa blinked at the woman who answered the door, her hands tightening on her hamper and umbrella, as it had started to rain again and she didn't look forward to being wet. "I'm Ijuuin Asa, a classmate of Fuji-san's," she introduced herself. "Is Fuji-san home?"

Yumiko was silent for a moment before turning into the house. "Syusuke!" she called down the hall. "Your classmate is here to see you!" Girlfriend, perhaps? She could only wonder at it, although sometimes she looked forward to the day when both her brothers would bring home a girlfriend. But when that day comes she would most likely feel that they've grown up much too fast.

Fuji padded up and took the door from her, thanking her with a nod of her head. "Hello, Ijuuin-chan," he said kindly. "Is something the matter?"

Asa fumbled for words for a few seconds before bowing deeply. "I'm terribly sorry about what happened in school today!" she said breathlessly. Her hair hid the most part of her flaming face. "Umm… please take this as an apology," she mumbled, shoving the hamper into a stunned Fuji's arms and then turning to flee back down the walkway.

The only problem was, she never got to, he caught her wrist and said, very calmly, "I'll walk you."

"Iie… you don't need to…"

"I'll get a jacket. Come inside." And she was all but dragged into the Fuji house, standing nervously in their front hall as Fuji walked to the kitchen. A few hushed words were passed between him and his family, and then he reappeared, stopping at the closet to take out two jackets, one of which she saw to be the blue and white of the Seigaku tennis regular's jacket.

"Put it on; the rain will make it chilly. You'll catch a cold." The jacket was handed to her and all she could do was stand there stupidly as he put on his own. He flashed a bright smile at her and took it out of her hands, turning her around with a gentle push and putting it over her shoulders. "A jacket has no use if you just hold it," he chided gently.

Voice and ability to move returning, she flushed a bright crimson and wrapped it more snuggly around her. "T-thank you," she muttered. Her only answer was a smile as Fuji opened the door, taking her umbrella with him. She followed obediently like a duckling follows its mother.

Fuji held the umbrella between them and walked on her right side, since there was a wind blowing the rain that way. They were silent for the majority of the trip, although Fuji took note that she was uncharacteristically quiet. They passed under a streetlamp and he frowned to see how pale the cheeks were. "You'll need to get a good amount of sleep today," he said matter-of-factly. "You still look a little pale."

"H-hai."

He smiled and squeezed her shoulder gently before stopping. They had made it to the gate in front of the Ijuuin's house. She unlocked it and pushed it open, and the two of them walked up to the porch, where he handed back her umbrella. She moved to return the jacket but he stopped her. "You can return it tomorrow," he said lightly. "I'll be going back, then." He turned to leave.

"Fuji-san, are you sure you don't want to take the umbrella with you? You'll catch a fever if you run all the way back."

He turned his head over his shoulder and flashed her a radiant smile. "I'll be fine," he stated, giving a little wave and then running off into the rain. She sighed, hugging her arms around her shoulders. _I hope he doesn't get sick going back,_ she thought as she unlocked her front door and let herself into the house. Kurumi's eyes widened to the size of saucers when the grade-schooler took in the blue and white jacket, with the name 'Fuji' embroidered in black thread on the hem.

"Syusuke-onii-chan is _so_ kind, isn't he?" she squealed, clapping her hands.

"I suppose," she said, shrugging off the jacket and preparing to head upstairs. "Except I think he's a bit… strange. Kind but strange."

And halfway to his house, Fuji stopped to sneeze. He smiled, chuckling to himself. It looked like someone was talking about him behind his back. Still laughing to himself, he continued on his way home.


	6. Chapter 5

**_Chapter 5_**

Fuji was lying on his bed, his brown hair still slightly damp from his shower. Besides him on the bed was a small dish of cookies. Upon arriving back at his own home, he had asked what was in the hamper. Yumiko had opened it to find cookies nestled in folds of white cloth. He and Yuuta had each retreated to the sanctuaries of their own rooms, each with a small dish piled high with the snack. Yoshiko had frowned, telling them not to spill any crumbs although there was a light note in her voice.

He rolled over onto his back, staring up at his ceiling, picking up another cookie and munching on it. _She must have added honey to the batter._ There was that certain sweetness in it. And in the center, an evenly melted bit of chocolate from which she had folded into the snack. _Eiji would like them,_ he thought, putting the rest into his mouth and chewing.

His door opened and his mother poked her head in. "Syusuke? You're still up?"

Fuji pushed himself up into a sitting position and turned his smiling face towards his mother. "Hai, okaa-san."

Her smile widened as she let herself into the room. Fuji moved off his bed, transferring the dish to his desk were it couldn't get knocked over on accident, and then returning to perch there, next to his mother. "Was that girl a friend of yours?" she asked.

"Aa-chan?" he asked, before slapping a hand to his mouth. There went his promise to use the pet name next week.

Yoshiko's eyes opened, the brilliant blue eyes that he had inherited sparkling with amusement. "Such a name?" she mused. "You know her well, then."

Fuji shook his head. "Iie… I'm not really sure," he muttered. "She just transferred over here two days ago. She's alright, I guess." Indeed, she was interesting, mysterious in her own way that was so like him.

His mother seemed to read him like an open book, no matter how successful he was at hiding it from his friends. "It's nice that you've helped a new student," she said simply. He let out his breath, not even aware that he had been holding it in the first place. She stood, as did he, and walked towards the door. "Get some sleep, Syusuke," she chided her oldest son, planting a kiss on his forehead before walking out. He nodded, shutting the door and then sitting cross-legged back on his bed, absentmindedly popping another cookie into his mouth.

The clock read 11:30 PM. Had he really been up that late? No wonder his mother worried. Shutting the blinds, he climbed under his covers and stared at his ceiling once again. He didn't know why, but he had the sudden urge to call Eiji and listen to his friend's senseless chatter. These past two days were taking their toll on him. He sighed and curled up on his side, pulling the blankets tightly around himself. It was beginning to get cold, now that fall was slowly turning into winter. He'd have to dig out his winter coat later. Perhaps when the weekend came?

Letting his mind wander from subject to subject, he gradually fell asleep, one hand creeping out of his covers to rest on his pillow.

***

"Morning practice today," Fuji stated, rubbing the last of sleep from his smiling eyes as he munched on a piece of toast. A glass of apple juice was also present besides his plate, and the hamper of cookies was in the center of the table. "I might also be a bit late coming back," he announced, finishing the rest of his toast and draining his cup of its contents. He didn't elaborate, and his mother didn't ask for a more thorough explanation.

"Just be safe!" she called after him as he left the house. He gave a wave of his hand in reply as the front door clicked shut.

He paused when he was in front of the Ijuuin house, staring at the gate with a contemplative expression on his face. His thoughts were interrupted when someone asked, "What are you doing, aniki?" He turned to see Yuuta walking towards him, hands in his pockets.

"Nothing," was his answer as he waited for his brother to close the distance between them.

Yuuta frowned, clearly not buying his older brother's excuse. Sometimes it was bothersome when your younger brother knew you so well. "Really, aniki, what _are_ you doing?" Of course, Yuuta didn't _really_ care about what his older brother was up to. Why on earth would he care about what he was doing? He was simply asking in order to fulfill his role as the younger brother, if younger brothers were supposed to ask their older ones what they were doing.

"Nothing," Fuji said again, beginning to walk forward on his way to school, when the front door of the house slammed open and footsteps hurried down the path. The gate creaked open, and both Fuji brothers turned to see who was exiting. It turned out to be Asa, who was currently shutting the gate before turning to face the street, rubbing her eyes tiredly with the back of her hand. Her schoolbag and another bag were in her hands as she started walking forward, head down and eyes staring at the pavement. "Good morning, Ijuuin-chan," Fuji greeted when she got closer.

"Eh? Oh, good morning, Fuji-san." Yuuta raised his eyebrows in mild surprise while Fuji continued to smile. Both boys fell into step besides the girl, flanking her as they made their way towards Seigaku.

"I'll be going, now," Yuuta announced when they reached the school gates. Fuji's unasked question of 'Where are you going to go?' was answered when Yuuta continued on, saying, "Mizuki was going to practice with me for a bit this morning. I'll definitely beat you soon, aniki!" Having finished his little 'speech,' Yuuta turned and walked off, seeming cheerful at the fact that he was going to beat his older brother.

Asa turned to face Fuji, noticing the frown on his face ever since his brother had mentioned the name 'Mizuki.' "Fuji-san?" she ventured, only to get her wrist grabbed by said person and then being subjected to the action of being dragged across the schoolyard. "Fuji-san?!" she tried again, and got no reaction. Now she began to worry. At this rate she did not see herself escaping anytime soon. "Fuji-san!" Her voice had risen slightly as Fuji continued to march across the school yard, the subject of multitudes of curious stares. She sighed mentally. _When push comes to shove…_ She seriously did not want to become the subject of all of the fan girls' gossips.

Transferring her bags to the hand with the wrist that was imprisoned in Fuji's iron grip, she reached up and whapped him across the back of his head. In her present position it could do nothing serious, and she had the fleeting instant of panic when her mind brought up Eiji's comments about Fuji's sadistic side. _Please, please, please, Kami-sama,_ she begged quietly under her breath. _Please make me survive the last day before the weekend._

Fuji had stopped when his head had been hit by something. Twisting his head around his shoulders, his eyebrows rose in surprise at the stunned expression on Asa's face. A quick glance around the courtyard told him that he had succeeded in dragging her nearly halfway across it. _Ah…_ Letting go of her wrist, he looked as bashful as he could muster. "Gomen, Aa-chan." Her brow quirked upwards and he found himself stuttering out an explanation twenty seconds later. It was rare for him to stutter, he mused as he did a retake on what he was saying. It was funny how some people had the ability to bring out certain aspects of you that others couldn't.

Take Tezuka, for instance. The captain of the Seigaku tennis team just couldn't help but draw out his more playful side, the side that also tended to play lots of jokes in the attempt to get a different expression on that stoic face. Fuji Syusuke was not one to back down from challenges, and he took the job of making Tezuka smile, or laugh, as a very serious challenge. Unfortunately, he had yet to succeed, although he did manage to get a tiny smile once. He would have to work harder.

Then there was Eiji and Echizen. While he mainly acted as a mentor towards their team's youngest member, he found himself to be unusually protective of him, just as he was with Eiji and Yuuta. Perhaps it was simply his older brother instincts kicking in.

"Fuji-san? Are you alright?" He returned to the present when his name was called. Looking down, he found himself staring into frowning blue eyes. "You're acting strange... are you sure you're not ill? People should never be stupid enough to run down the street in the pouring rain," their owner grumbled, stretching up to press her forehead against his. Startled, he tried to take a step backwards but failed on account that she held tightly to his wrist.

"No fever!" she said brightly a moment later, stepping back onto the balls of her feet and with a cheerful smile on her face. Fuji blinked, the brilliant blue of his own eyes showing for a second, before feeling heat rush up to his cheeks. "But honestly," Asa berated him as they began to make their way slowly towards the courts, him turning his face slightly away as to try to hide his slightly flushed cheeks. "You really should take an umbrella next time," Asa continued, not seeming to notice. "You'll be miserable if you get a fever. Are you even paying attention, Fuji-san?"

"Hai. I'm all ears, Aa-chan." This time, the pet name came out without the slightest bit of hesitation. Hey, if she didn't mind doing a head check for a nonexistent fever, than the least he could do was tease her with a nickname, right?

Unfortunately, it did not quite produce the desired effect, probably because she was already used to Eiji. Or probably because she hadn't heard him, since said redhead suddenly bounced out of seemingly nowhere, beginning his morning rituals of steady glomping, first with Asa and then with Fuji. "Good morning, Eiji," the two of them said dutifully, which he returned with enthusiastic bouncing as they continued on their way.

"Oh, Eiji-kun!" Eiji cocked his head to the side with a cute expression of childish curiosity. "This is for you." She handed him a box which he took happily, opening it and exclaiming with delight at the biscuits inside. Instantly, one of them was in his mouth and an expression of bliss crossing his face. "It's not that good," Asa murmured. "Kurumi and I decided to do a little experimenting with the oven. Okaa-san was working late yesterday." They stopped at the door to the locker room, and Asa stopped Fuji before he could go in. "Here; it's your jacket. Thank you for letting me borrow it."

Fuji accepted the garment with his usual smile. "Thanks," he murmured before vanishing into the locker room with Eiji. Standing for a few seconds with her schoolbag, she smiled briefly before making her way to one of the sakura trees lining the path to the courts. She had time to spare, so why not watch them practice?

When Fuji ran to return to return the ball that Inui had served for him, his gaze shifted to the side of the courts, where that lone figure leaned against the smooth bark of the tree. _She looks a lot like Kurumi-chan,_ he thought as the gut of his racket connected with the ball and he returned it to a waiting Inui.

The manager of the Seigaku team turned in surprise when Fuji marched purposefully up to him. "I have to ask you something," the genius said abruptly, much to his surprise. So all of the regulars found themselves being dragged to the center of the court (even Tezuka, much to his dislike) where Fuji was waiting with a faint look of impatience on that angelic face of his.

"What?" Tezuka asked shortly, while Oishi looked worried and asked, "Is something wrong?" Fuji almost burst out laughing. It was so like the fuki-buchou and buchou.

"I have something to ask you all," he said to the assembled regulars. The eight boys leaned closer to him so that he could whisper into their ears.

***

Asa put the last of her books that she didn't need for morning classes into her locker, and then proceeded to shut the device. _I hate mornings,_ she thought miserably, her hand straying on the cold metal. Honestly, what sane person would want to wake up early for school? Couldn't they hold it an hour later?

Of course, if they did, she would probably still complain.

Her hand leaving the locker's surface, she turned to start heading to class, only to find her way barred by nine tennis players. She was silent, stunned, while they stood and looked quite serious.

"I-is… something the matter?" she stuttered out. She couldn't help but feel faintly intimidated by these nine people, especially when they surrounded her and her locker in a semi-circle. "C-can I help you?" she asked, gaze shifting from one face to another.

Tezuka cleared his throat. "We've heard about your condition from Fuji," he began. A slow blink, followed by an expression that was half a glare and half a look of pained sorrow. "And we've decided," he continued in his deep voice, shooting a look at Fuji that seemed to say 'Fuji decided for us,' "that we'll be here if you ever need anything," he finished.

Her head tipped to the side in mild confusion before a faint smile crossed her face. "Ah… thank you," she said sincerely.

Tezuka gave a faint nod and then turned as if to leave, only to find Fuji having materialized besides him. One slender finger poked his side, and the captain turned around, expression still perfectly stoic. "Oh, and," he began.

"Fuji-san put you up for it, right?"

Fuji pouted slightly from behind Tezuka's shoulder. "Oh… you know, then?" he asked, feigning defeat.

Asa frowned slightly. _That's because I'm quite sure that no matter how well Tezuka-san's intentions are, he wouldn't drag his whole tennis team to make this little announcement,_ she thought, although she did feel quite touched that he had went through with all this. "Thank you very much, minasan."

And she glanced at those nine boys and flashed a genuine smile. She was faintly surprised; Fuji and Eiji weren't pushing her away like some kind of freak after she had totally embarrassed herself. _Mai no shainingu tenshi,_ she decided.

_My shining angel._

_Times nine._


	7. Chapter 6

**_Chapter 6_**

Weeks passed with the nine Seigaku regulars playing their "angel" parts, whether they liked it or not. Fuji amused himself greatly during this period by finding ways to torment and blackmail anyone who wanted to bail out. It was a nice little way to satisfy that sadistic side of his. Of course, this only happened when it absolutely needed to, because there were always Inui's new creations (when Inui's creativity reached its peak, the senior was cranking out a new invention every three days) in which he had the satisfaction of watching work its magic on everyone every single time.

Of course, it was quite dampening to the spirits when Tezuka was in no way affected by any single one of the concoctions. There was the occasional twitching of the hands, however, with some of the juices, so Fuji supposed it wasn't a total waste of time when he tagged behind Inui to ask about his latest innovation and offer suggestions to the ingredients of them.

Gradually, the weeks lengthened into months and Tokyo, Japan entered the month of December, the month of snow and cold and a general festivity with the oncoming holidays. While Christmas wasn't as revered as it was in other places, it was still celebrated as a time to enjoy spending quality time with family. Small gifts were exchanged and occasionally a young couple sometimes found themselves under random bunches of mistletoe, which meant kisses for them.

The tennis season was over, but that didn't mean that the Seigaku regulars didn't still practice. While they no longer practiced in the school courts or the street tennis courts (the nets there had been taken down already), they did manage to secure a pass to the local gym from Ryuzaki-sensei, meaning that they still went every week there to train. That was their secret for staying in shape until the spring came and they could once again practice on the outdoor courts.

Come December, Seigaku also had a steady tradition of getting ready to put on drama productions. Each grade was split into two groups, with each group putting on a different play. This gave a total of six plays by the time Christmas came.

It was just the senior regulars' luck that they were in the same group.

They would also be putting on a play with the strangest, cheesiest, and utterly heart-wrenching (quoted from their teacher) plot ever.

In simpler words, they would be performing something along the lines of romance. No one seemed thrilled at the prospect.

The gym was where their group was holding their first meeting in order to assign parts. While the vast majority of the group didn't know what the plot of the play was about (and could care less about it, anyway) there were some who deathly wanted to have either the smallest role possible or the main one. Eiji glanced around curiously for Fuji or any of the other seniors, before finding them huddled in a circle near the back. Instantly, he was rushing over there in a whirlwind of activity, causing a few yelps from other students as he went. "Nya! Oishi!" he wailed, launching himself onto his doubles partner. Poor Oishi was sent backwards, crashing into Inui and creating a domino affect around the circle.

It was not surprising at all for Tezuka to be the only one unaffected by this. He was stoic as ever, sitting there Indian style on the floor, arms crossed over his chest, frown ever present on his face.

"Oishi!" Eiji continued in his mock wailing as the mother of Seigaku pushed himself back into a sitting position. "I can't believe we're doing a _romance_ piece!"

A twitch from his partner was his only answer, while Fuji smiled brightly. "Saa, Eiji," he chided gently. "It will be fun." Instantly, all of the members minus Tezuka shivered. Fuji cocked his head to the side, puzzled. "What?" he asked, feigning innocence.

"Never mind."

"We'll begin now," announced the teacher who was in charge of the group. "All parts have been picked at random by drawing names from a hat." Snickers rippled through the gym, which were silenced by a rough glare from said teacher.

"The fist part is that of the King," continued the teacher. "The King is an overall very kind person, stern when he needs to be, which is rarely, and is surprisingly gentle. This part will be played by Tezuka Kunimitsu-kun!" There was a moment of stunned silence, then Eiji and Fuji burst out laughing. Tezuka as a gentle king? _Their_ Tezuka? The chance was simply too rare to pass up. When Tezuka retrieved his part, he fixed the two with an almost murderous glare. It was official; they would be running laps very, very soon, regardless of the cold, snow, or ice.

"Next, the King's brother, the multi-personality Count. The Count possesses a certain degree of sadism," here, everyone gave Fuji a knowing (if slightly fearful) look, while Fuji just carried on smiling innocently, "but also has the strange skills of a seemingly mad scientist." Their gazes now shifted from Fuji to Inui, who simply pushed his glasses into a more firm position on the bridge of his nose with his finger, muttering something with percentages. "This part will be played jointly by Inui Sadahara-kun and Kawamura Takeshi-kun."

"I don't know…" Taka-san trailed off, nervously rubbing the back of his head. "I wonder if I'll be able to do well." Fuji held out Taka-san's racket (goodness knows where he got it). "I don't need my racket, Fuji," he said, but the tensai insisted, so he took it. "Oh, all right," he murmured. He was still for a few seconds, then leaped up with a twitch of his eyebrows. "I'm BURNING!" he roared, pumping his fist (with the racket) into the air as he leaped toward the teacher to receive his part, "This play is nothing to me!" The rest of his teammates could have sworn that the teacher cowered back from the fiery boy with the racket.

Oishi blinked in numb shock. "F-fuji," he started nervously, "how on earth did you have Taka-san's racket?" It wasn't uncommon for the genius to give Seigaku's best power player his racket when he needed it (or didn't need it), but for him to have it in the gymnasium was a bit… strange. Even for Fuji.

Fuji's head tipped to the side again, and an overly innocent smile graced his face. "Well, since Taka-san is prone to these bouts of low self-esteem, I thought that such an event as the announcement of parts needed the racket." He flashed a sunny smile. "And that's why I have Taka-san's racket. Or, had, at least, since Taka-san has it now."

Oishi sighed in defeat. Trust the genius to come up with an excuse like that. Heaving another sigh, he shook his head (egg-head, as Eiji affectionately called him) and rubbed his forehead tiredly with a hand.

***

"Ah… the selection of parts is finally over. What a relief," Fuji said lightly as he stretched his slender arms over his head.

"I don't see why you're so relieved," Eiji muttered, a childishly sour look on his face. "You _are_ the prince, after all."

"Ah… that's true," was his friend's good-natured reply. "Although it's a pity the princess dropped out." He chuckled lightly and turned his head to the silent girl walking behind him.

She sulked and frowned up at his smiling face. "I really couldn't do it," she mumbled. It wasn't so much the acting (although she honestly didn't want to do that, either) but the fact that the final date of the performance was one that was of a… inconvenience to her. "But besides," she said brightly, "being a part of the stage crew is great, too! I get to see the whole play!"

"You can also see it if you perform as the princess," Eiji complained, crossing his arms over his chest. She flushed crimson, but never got the chance to answer him.

"Yo, Aa-chan! Why are you walking so slowly?"

Three heads turned towards the source of the voice, which belonged to a middle-aged man with messy dark hair and a pair of glasses almost exactly like Tezuka's. He was leaning against the side of a dark blue car, dressed snugly in a winter coat with a scarf wound around his neck. _Okaa-san must have made him wear it._ Her father hated scarves with a passion.

"Don't run; you'll fall and hit your head," he teased when they got closer, and she scowled in response. There wasn't even any snow yet on the ground, although the weather forecast predicted that a blizzard would assault Tokyo that night.

"Ne, he seems to know you very well," Fuji commented.

"Such is the duty of a father."

The man flashed a grin in response. "Good afternoon. I'm Ijuuin Ayumu; Asa's father. It's a pleasure to meet you…?"

"Fuji Syusuke," Fuji offered, holding out his hand. The man shook it warmly. "And this is my friend Kikumaru Eiji." He shook hands with Eiji, as well, the acrobat's head bobbing up and down brightly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Fuji-kun, Kikumaru-kun."

"You, too, Ijuuin-san," was their polite answer.

He chuckled, but then turned serious. "I must thank you for watching over Aa-chan," he said slowly, playing around with the words in his head before speaking them. "I hope she hasn't caused too much trouble with her condition. And making you walk her to and from school, too, Fuji-kun." At this, Eiji turned to stare at him with wide eyes. Fuji's response was simply his customary smile, if not a bit wider than usual.

"Iie. I offered to do it myself, since I passed your house in the mornings when there was still morning practice and she usually stayed after school at the computer lab," Fuji explained. "I guess it's become a habit, now, ne?"

The man smiled in relief. "All the same… thank you," he said graciously. "C'mon, Aa-chan. We're late. You had an appointment scheduled, didn't you?"

"Hai!" Asa turned to face Fuji and Eiji. "I'll see you two tomorrow, then," she said brightly. They nodded and she slid into the passenger seat of her father's car while he bid the two boys farewell. Throwing her schoolbag into the back seat, she heaved a sigh and buckled herself in. _Once we get through December,_ she thought ruefully, _only six more months to go._ She wondered if she should have felt relieved at this, for that stupid surgery could finally be completed. Or perhaps she should have been disappointed, since it was to be taking place right before summer vacation, so she would be spending the majority of her summer in the hospital for rehabilitation. She heaved another sigh and shook her head sadly, almost in the pitiful way a puppy did to soften one's heart, and her father glanced her way.

"Something bothering you?" he asked bluntly, turning his eyes back to the road. The traffic light at the intersection turned red, so he braked the car, and there were a few minutes of total and complete silence in the vehicle until it turned green and he started forward again.

"Betsuni." No, nothing was wrong with her. Why on earth would he think that?

He snorted, almost as if he had read her thoughts, which she thought that there was a good chance in him actually doing it. But he didn't push the subject; the two of them simply lapsed off into a comfortable silence again. Father and daughter rarely exchanged many words on car trips, but it was alright with the two of them. They just liked it better that way, the way each of them could think their own thoughts without interruption.

Pretty soon, he pulled up into the hospital parking lot, shutting down the engine and pulling his keys out. She opened the door and got out quietly, him following suit. _There wasn't really much of a difference between hospitals,_ Asa thought to herself as she climbed the short flight of steps (five steps in total) to the sliding glass doors. They parted and she stepped into the lobby, the warmth immediately washing over her chilled body, painting her cheeks with a nice shade of pink. _They all seem to have the same smiling staff of nurses, the same doctors who try to sound all positive and happy._ In no way whatsoever was she implying that she was a pessimist, or that all the doctors and nurses were extreme optimists, it was just that…

The thought suddenly struck her as funny, and she couldn't explain herself. She couldn't even begin to find the words to explain why she thought this was so funny. It just… was.

_My logic needs no proof to make sense to me,_ she argued with herself, although she wondered why she did, because her logic made nearly no sense to her, either. _I'm a lost cause._

"You're late." Her doctor's voice drifted over to her ears as she looked up to find the man striding towards her in his long, white jacket. "I hope it wasn't my nephew holding you up," he said sternly, although his green eyes were twinkling.

"Of course not!" she said hastily, waving her hands in front of her in a vague little expression. "I'm sure Oishi-san would never do anything like that. Oishi-san is a very responsible person." What on earth was she saying? She was sounding like an idiot. Hospitals and their staff of doctors and nurses had their way of doing that.

He chuckled lightly. "Ah, that's good to hear," he stated. "Come. We'll begin your checkup. Nothing special or overly fancy to be done today; it's just a regular one." She let out a relieved breath and trotted dutifully after the doctor while her father found himself a seat in the lobby's waiting area. She had to smirk slightly when she saw him tear the scarf away from his neck with an expression of disgust as if it were some kind of poisonous snake as soon as he was properly sitting down.

She was ushered into one of the rooms and bade to sit down on a chair. She perched there as he rummaged through a pile of papers, marking off a few things before pulling out a stethoscope. He motioned for her to turn around so that her back faced him, which she did, and shortly afterwards she felt the cold circle on her back. "Breathe in," came his voice, soft and gentle, and she sucked in a large breath of air. "Good. Now breathe out." She let it out in a gentle whoosh. The process was repeated four more times before the disk left her back and he returned to his paperwork.

A few seconds later, she was holding out her right arm as he wrapped a cuff snuggly around the slim appendage. When that was securely in place, he slid the stethoscope's disk under the cuff and started to pump air into it. She felt the familiar squeeze around her arm as it tightened so that he could take her blood pressure, and stayed sill, listening to the squeaking little pumps as the air was pumped in, and then the shrill whistle as it was being let out. The tightness lessened, and then the cuff was removed from her arm as she rubbed it absentmindedly with her other hand.

Twenty minutes later, her checkup was done. Asides from the usual problems (her eyesight was slowly getting a bit worse, she shouldn't stay up late at night studying or playing with her cat when she should be sleeping) she was pretty much in the norm for junior high girls. Her doctor ambled off to talk to her father, so she took a seat at one of the rows of benches and leafed through a magazine placed on the small table at one end of it. It was a magazine featuring pets, so she immersed herself with browsing through the photographs of well-groomed dogs, fluffy hamsters, and sophisticated looking cats. There was even a bonus page in the cat section with tips for the average cat owner. She reread the section three times in order to ensure that she remembered it all.

There would still be a good chance that she would forget it the moment she walked into her front door. Shutting the magazine with a rustle of the glossy pages and other sigh, she set the thin book down and stood. Her father was finishing his conversation, and soon he started walking to the door. She hurried to meet him and the two of them got into the car.

"Nothing new?" he asked.

She shook her head, reaching for the seat belt. "My eyesight is getting a bit off. He just cautioned me that I shouldn't stay up too late."

Her father nodded fiercely. "Yes, you do that," he mumbled, frowning over his shoulder as he backed the car out of the parking space. "Also, don't sit too close to the screen when you watch those movies of yours." She huffed, but couldn't find the words to make a comeback.

"Tadaima!" she called out when she entered the house. Rich smells came from the kitchen as she padded upstairs, depositing her schoolbag on her bed and then going back downstairs. She sidestepped a heap of colored pencils and a cat in their midst (if Seika went upstairs with rainbow streaks in her fur from the colored pencils, it would mean an hour's worth of bath for her, although goodness knows how colored pencils could stain fur) and headed into the kitchen. "Hi, Okaa-san," she said.

Her mother gestured to one of the bubbling pots and handed her a ladle, so she lifted the lid to stir whatever its contents were. "I thought we'd have curry tonight. You don't mind?" Asa shook her head as she dipped the ladle into the pot and stirred in gentle movements. Her mother sighed, continuing to immerse herself with the business of making rice. "Narumi likes her rice plain; Kurumi likes it spicy. That makes it all the more difficult…" she trailed off and Asa giggled slightly. Soon her mother joined in, and then they were laughing.

The twins popped their heads in to see what was so funny, and then picked up plates to set the table. Neither of the two older women could help but notice that Kurumi's cheeks were flushed pink with delight.

"Ne, Kurumi. You seem very happy tonight."

Kurumi nodded happily, and then announced the cause of her happiness. "Syusuke-onii-chan agreed to take me on another date!" she squealed happily.

"EH?!"


	8. Chapter 7

**_Chapter 7_**

"Syusuke," Yumiko called up to her brother from the bottom of the stairs. He popped his head out of his door and glanced curiously down at her older sister.

"Is something wrong?" he asked sweetly.

Yumiko wore a worried expression on her face, if not with the tiniest hint of amusement on it, and in her hand was her deck of tarot cards. "Be careful when you go to school tomorrow, ok?" she asked, resulting in a pleasantly puzzled expression from Fuji.

"Jaa, if nee-san says so," he replied. "Nee-san's card reading abilities are always most accurate." Then, he retreated back into his room, falling backwards onto his bed with his hands tucked under his head. Presently, his cell phone started to ring, so he reached out and flipped it open, not even bothering to look at the caller ID. "Moshimoshi?" he asked, making himself comfortable on his pillow.

Kurumi's little wail came from the other side of the line. "Waah! Syusuke-onii-chan, onee-chans are being mean!" There was a jumble of incoherent words in the background while Fuji just listened with wide-eyed surprise. He heard Kurumi let out a yelp, then retort hotly to one of her sisters, so he assumed that the phone was yanked from her hand.

"Kurumi-chan! Is everything alright?" he asked worriedly, to see if she still had hold of the phone, pushing himself up into a sitting position.

The voice that came from the other line was not Kurumi's voice, so it looked like the grade-schooler had lost the battle. "Ne, Fuji-kun."

"Yeah, Aa-chan?"

"About your date with Kurumi…"

"Ah… is something wrong with it?" he asked, keeping his voice light and cheerful. He could almost feel the dangerous aura emitting from the girl, even though they were on opposite ends of the street. "If you're afraid that I'm going to abduct her, I can assure you that I have nothing of the sort planned." His lip curled upward slightly in amusement when he heard the low grinding sound on the other end.

The answer came in a dangerously sweet voice. "I'm sure that if you kidnapped Kurumi, I would be the least of your troubles."

He chuckled, turning himself on his bed so that he could lean against the wall. "Ah… true, true." But then he frowned slightly as a new thought popped into his head. "Last time Kurumi took me on one of her 'dates', she picked the places, so I thought it would be only fair that I pick where we go this time," he found himself telling into the receiver. "But I'm really not sure where I should take her." Truthfully, he didn't know much about the young girl's preferences, other than that she liked the co-play stores that he had promised himself that he would never, never step into ever again.

Never; it was embarrassing as it was.

There was a moment of silence, before the sound of muffled giggles could be heard. "Kurumi likes aquariums," Asa quipped up when her giggles subsided. "You could take her to that aquarium that just opened. It's right across the street from that huge tennis stadium. You know… the one that has a dome that opens and closes?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I know where it is." He had passed it once or twice when his sister picked him up in her car to have him help her run a few errands. It looked quite nice, with its sign painted a brilliant aquamarine color, decorated with chibi images of fish and jellyfish and dolphins. The whole place conveyed an air of cuteness, but still managed to seem scientific, which was seen almost as soon as you stepped into the lobby. He would have to see if he had enough pocket money to buy two tickets tomorrow.

"Well, then, I'm glad we cleared that up," Asa said brightly. "Good night."

He listened to the steady beeping of the phone as she hung up, before saying softly, "Good night," himself. Setting the receiver back into its cradle, he lay back on his pillow and stared at his ceiling. It wasn't long before he had dozed off, one hand draped over his chest as he slipped into a peaceful slumber.

***

At nine o'clock the next morning, the doorbell to the Ijuuin house rang. Kurumi shot down the stairs, all dressed and ready to go, to answer it. Their mother had allowed her to put on a little makeup, so Kurumi, Narumi, and Asa had experienced a bit with mascara and blush. Kurumi had wanted to use the lipstick, but both Narumi and Asa finally managed to dissuade her from the tube of dark red lipstick.

"Good morning, Syusuke-onii-chan!" Kurumi said happily as she threw open the door.

Fuji's smile was as gentle as usual as he dipped his head forward slightly. "Good morning, Kurumi-chan," he replied, and then scrutinized her face with a critical eye. Kurumi wearing makeup was a rare sight to see, although she looked quite nice in it. A thin, carefully applied line of eyeliner accentuated her stormy blue eyes, while the faintest bit of blush added color to her cheeks. It went well with her shirt, a light blue one with a white line in the shape of a sword going down its side and a pair of long pants. "You look nice," he complimented, and the sixth grader flushed happily, cheeks becoming steadily pinker.

"Mascara is so hard to remove…" Kurumi and Fuji turned to look into the house as Narumi and Asa came down the stairs. "Remind me never to use it ever again," Narumi complained. Asa was holding a compact disk in her hands and frowning at it, moving a sponge that was half stained brown with the makeup between her fingers.

"All this work just to look pretty," she mused. "But Narumi… if Kurumi looks nice in it I'm sure you would, too." She suddenly glanced at the door and flashed a quick smile. "Good morning, Fuji-kun."

"Good morning." He turned his attention back to Kurumi. "Saa, Kurumi-chan. Let's go."

Kurumi gave a faint wave to her sisters and hurried down the walkway after her 'date'. "Ne, ne, Syusuke-onii-chan!" she said brightly as she caught up to him. "Where are we going today?"

"The aquarium," he answered, and was rewarded with an extremely bright smile. Asa was right about the aquariums.

"Awesome! It's the new one, right?" He nodded and she laughed, latching affectionately onto his arm. "I haven't been there yet. I heard it was really nice though." And on and on she chattered while they walked to the bus stop.

Narumi turned to Asa with a twinkle in her eyes before fishing two tickets to the aquarium out of her pocket. "Ne, nee-chan," she said. "Why don't we go, too?" If not for spying on Kurumi, then going to see all the sea creatures was nice, too.

An enthusiastic nod was her answer. "Let's go, then!"

***

"Wow!" Kurumi's eyes were shining as she took in the vast multitude of colorful fish that were swimming in their tank. "Ne, Syusuke-onii-chan, don't you think so?" She turned expectantly to the boy, only to find him looking in the other direction, a slightly surprised expression on his face. "Syusuke-onii-chan?" she ventured forth.

He started, before pasting his usual smile on his face. "Of course," he said, although Kurumi noticed with a huff that his voice was vague and he seemed distant. Why did _her_ Syusuke-onii-chan have to be like that, today of all days?

"Ne, ne, Syusuke-onii-chan," she whined, tugging enthusiastically on his arm until he turned to her. "Let's go see the seals. Maybe they'll let us feed fish to them!" She tugged him down the walkway and he had no choice but to follow. By the time noon rolled in and they stopped at the café to grab a few bites to eat, Fuji found himself exhausted after having to escort Kurumi to all parts of the aquarium. _And this comes from a tensai at tennis,_ he thought with an amused smirk on his face.

Kurumi was munching a burger happily when he chanced a glance upwards and saw four familiar figures seating themselves at a table not too far away. This group consisted of Momo, Eiji, Narumi, and Asa. Eiji seemed to be sporting off some new trick of his with a spoon and a fork and Narumi was giggling at his antics. Momo was busy immersing himself within the pages of the menu. Asa had her nose in the map of the aquarium. He heard a few snatches of her conversation, something along the lines of seals. When Eiji and Momo paused in their actions to give him a triumphant glance, he frowned slightly. So that explained his uneasy feeling in here; he was being tailed by the two of them. Why did this remind him of the first time he had met Kurumi?

"Excuse me for a second, Kurumi-chan," he apologized to the girl sitting opposite of him before standing and making his way over to his friends. Eiji saw him coming and gestured to an empty chair besides him. Fuji perched there and surveyed him and Momo for a few moments. "Don't trust me on a date?" he finally asked, a hint of a tease creeping into his voice. Or was it something darker? It was hard to tell; Fuji could make his voice sound carefree and innocent whenever he liked.

"Nah," Eiji said lightly, popping a French fry into his mouth and offering one to Fuji. He refused politely, sitting in a way that stated that he was waiting for his answer. Eiji had no choice but to answer, which he promptly did, after swallowing his French fry. "It's not often Fujiko goes out on a date. You need a girlfriend." He was so blunt and to the point that Fuji was surprised. By this time, Narumi had excused herself and had taken her plate to sit with her younger twin sister, the two of them maintaining a lively chat as they finished their meals.

"I see," Fuji finally relented after a few moments of silence, in which Momo had finally decided what he wanted (traditional cheeseburger, go figure) and was taking large bites out of, an expression of pure bliss on his face. He would have said more but the twins came up, having finished their lunches and put away the trays.

"Ne, Syusuke-onii-chan," Kurumi began, "Narumi and I are going to check out the dolphins, so you can stay and chat with your friends."

At this, Fuji opened his mouth to protest, but Narumi beat him to saying anything. "We'll set up a rendezvous time," she stated briskly. "How about three o'clock in the penguins' area?" He nodded once and the two girls headed off, heads together as they discussed some topic.

Eiji stood hastily, dragging a protesting Momo up as well. "We'll go see the dolphins, nya!" he said happily, and dragged away his kouhai. Surprisingly, Momo still managed to retain his grip on his half-eaten cheeseburger as he went. Fuji allowed a faintly bemused smile to steal across his face until he glanced sideways. Blue eyes regarded him calmly while Asa finished the rest of her lunch, stacking everything neatly on her tray before standing up, as well.

"Have you seen the seals yet?" she asked, pointing to a spot on the map. He shook his head. No, he hadn't gone there yet. Her face brightened considerably. "Great! Then would you like to come with me?" Seeing no other way out of the matter, he stood, giving a simple, "Of course," and the two of them filed out of the café area.

One large, gentle, brown eye looked at Fuji from the other side of the glass. The seal it belonged to turned its head so that if could stare at him with its other eye, and he chuckled despite himself. Besides him, Asa let out a soft breath, murmuring, "It's so adorable, ne?"

"Hai." _Adorable and playful,_ he thought, watching it perform a somersault underwater and then heading up to the surface for air. It came back down shortly afterwards, to stare at them curiously again.

_'Why don't you come in?'_ it seemed to be asking as it waved a flipper at the two humans.

"Because I don't see a way that I could get in the tank," Fuji answered the animal. "I also don't think the keepers would appreciate it if I hopped in." Asa gave him a curious look before returning her attention to the marine animal.

"You're… talking to it?" she asked softly.

"You can talk to anything," Fuji stated matter-of-factly, "Even plants. They all listen to you. Whether they answer or not is a different story."

"I see…" A slight moment of pause, then, "Is Yuuta-kun coming over for Christmas?"

Fuji tipped his head to one side, smiling eyes watching the lap of the water against the glass. "We don't know yet. He's supposed to call either okaa-san or nee-san later today." He suddenly frowned. "Either way, I'll have to get him a present. The only problem is, I haven't gotten him one yet." He sighed; it looked like he would be out to haunt the shops tonight. While on the topic of presents, he also realized he had to buy one for his sister. His present to his mother had already been planned out. Oh, decisions, decisions! What would he get Yumiko?

"I'm wondering… would you like to help me with this idea for Kurumi's present?" The request surprised him, and he turned to her to notice her glancing at a wristwatch. "Are you free tomorrow after school?"

"We have to practice for that play," he reminded her. She frowned; she had completely forgotten about the play. "After the practice, then," she consented. "Are you free, then?" He nodded as they started walking towards the penguins' area. "Have you ever been to the cosplay shop? You know, the one where you can pick out a costume and then take those little sticker pictures?"

He twitched. "That place?" was all that he could offer. Although, somehow, he found himself agreeing as they met up with her as they met up with the rest. "Did you enjoy spending time with your sister?"

Kurumi nodded. "Hai! Thanks for taking me to the aquarium today, Syusuke-onii-chan!" She hurried off after her sisters who were already waiting for her at the entrance, jackets on to fend from the cold. Fuji sighed inwardly. He couldn't believe it. He would have to be paying that store another visit in the so very near future.

Although… if he could drag a few of the Regulars with him, then perhaps he could have some fun embarrassing them. Satisfied, he trotted out of the door to head home, giving a nod to the rest of the group. He would have to hurry if he wanted to have a good plan ready to convince a few chosen Regulars to come with him tomorrow.

* * *

A/N: My, my... first Author's Note. =) Personally... I don't really like this chapter. I think it just rambles on and on about basically nothing. I _did_ always want to see what would happen if Fuji was ever dragged into that co-play store again, though, so I guess this serves minimal purpose in the satisfation of my own strange mind. Heh. So I'm sorry if you thought this chapter was a really crappy piece of work, but I seriously can't do much more revising to it (already tried... epic fail).

And I think Fuji is a tad bit OOC... or maybe that's just me. *frowns*

~Sileny


	9. Chapter 8

**_Chapter 8_**

Practice for the play… was a disaster. It just seemed that nothing was going right. The poor teacher was driven nearly to tears, screaming about why people couldn't have spent the weekend to at least get the basis of their parts. They didn't need to memorize it, of course not, not yet, but they needed to know the simply personality of their character.

Tezuka had reduced himself to standing in as dark a corner as he could possibly find; where the teacher couldn't find him at once and start thinking about the origins of her problems. It seemed that Tezuka just couldn't fit in with the description of the King. Among the members of the stage crew, they had made a list of all the characters and their personalities. The King was apt to smile a lot, they found. Tezuka? He rarely smiled at all.

Then, there was Inui, who was taking the analytical part of his part as Count a tad bit too seriously. He had his green notebook in his hand, fully equipped with at least three pens lest either one of them runs out of ink. Currently, he was scribbling madly anything that he found ranging from trivial to highly important.

Oishi was in the center of the stage, trying to calm down an overly hyper Eiji. This resulted in Eiji grabbing his hand and bouncing around from person to person with the poor mother hen of Seigaku dragged behind him. Taka was poring over his script, mumbling about how he couldn't get this part and he couldn't understand that part. The main powerhouse was about to have a nervous breakdown when Fuji handed him a cane-like stick. Instantly, Taka had reverted to his "burning" mode, yelling, "This? It is nothing! I will get it all!"

And as for the tensai himself? He had opted to sit in the first row of seats with the stage crew members, claiming that it was a bit too rowdy for his taste up there. This resulted in him being forcefully dragged back onto the stage by an assistant teacher, while the main one called for them to try to rehearse once again.

"I feel sorry for sensei," one of the stage crew girls sighed. There was a round of nods. "And I also feel sorry for the princess. She doesn't seem to know what she's doing." They thought it was wise to not say that no one quite knew what they were doing.

A crash from one of the doorways that served as an entrance to the auditorium directed everyone's attention there. Asa was on the ground, a multitude of cardboard boxes and their contents strewn around her. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" she whined, rubbing her hip with one hand before she scrambled to put everything back into the boxes.

"Ijuuin-chan is clumsy," sighed the girl who was currently playing the role as princess. She gave a shake of her head, chocolate brown hair swinging over one shoulder. "Now, if _I_ were asked by sensei to deliver the boxes of the smaller props, _I_ would certainly _not_ drop them."

"Mou… she's being a bit unreasonable, isn't she?" another stage crew person whispered to the person sitting next to her.

Asa hurried up the steps to the stage, sighing inwardly. "Gomenesai," she mumbled, setting her load down and rummaging through them before popping up with a headset. One of the more resourceful of the assistant teachers had spent the entire weekend poring over each main part, recording it onto a tape and getting a headset to go with it. Personally, Asa couldn't think of anyone having the patience to do all that.

Fuji took his set with a bemused expression on his face, slipping it over his ears and turning it on. "Impressive," he said after listened to the first few seconds of the recording. "What limitless patience! Sensei is impressive as always." The teacher just chuckled nervously. With Fuji, one never really knew if his statements were praise or silent death threats.

"My part is boring!" Eiji whined after he had slammed the headset on his head. He was sulking, sitting cross-legged on the floor. "All I do is act like a shadow!" Oishi sighed in defeat, trying his ultimate best to calm down his partner, who was not in the least bit happy about his minimal part.

Asa sighed. Indeed, the idea of the headsets was a bit… over the top. Not that she had much chance to muse over the matter, as she was sent scurrying across the stage with another box. _Honestly… isn't this whole drama production thing a little over the top?_ she thought to herself, wandering towards the stairs that led off the stage. In fact, the whole cast of the stage crew were given boxes with miscellaneous junk and sent along on their way. "Ah… I can't do any more of this running around thing with large cardboard weights," she whined under her breath as she leaned against the wall. Said cardboard weight was sitting rather innocently on the ground at her feet, to which she gave it a sullen glare.

"I'll help, then."

Her head shot up in surprise to find Fuji standing opposite of her, usual smile present on his face. "Don't you have rehearsal going on?" she asked stupidly, gesturing vaguely down the hall. If anything, his smile widened to the point she worried if he was planning something dark in his mind.

"Saa… you're cruel, expecting us to practice during a break." He stepped forward, picking up the box and starting down the hall, leaving the girl no choice but to follow him. "About this afternoon…" he began, and she swore the temperature of the hallway got a few degrees colder.

"Oh, that," she said lamely, "I'm sorry about dragging you along. I probably should have asked you first." She lowered her head and padded after the silent boy. "But I thought that Kurumi would enjoy it…" She sighed as she trailed off. What was she trying to achieve, explaining to a brick wall in the form of Fuji? It was hopeless.

"Would you mind if I brought along some friends?" he asked suddenly. He stopped at the auditorium doors, and she opened them before filing down the aisle after him.

"Sure… why not? It'll be fun."

***

_Fuji-kun's idea of fun must not be the same as anyone else's._ Asa glanced around the co-play shop, crowded with its racks of clothes and the Seigaku Regulars that Fuji had dragged along, via blackmail or any other method Fuji could think of (most of these 'other' methods having some involvement with Inui Juice).

'We're all going to participate!' he had announced, after all of these methods, of course, so that was why the other boys were now searching for something that wouldn't totally shame them. Of course, Tezuka was excluded from this, being Tezuka, so Fuji had taken it upon himself to find the stoic captain a costume. Now, he popped out from behind a rack with a costume that looked like that of an army general or commander.

"How about this one?" he announced, his bright smile slightly bigger than usual. Tezuka simply glared at him, but was saved from answering when Kurumi came up, a sweet and innocent smile upon her face.

"Here!" she said, and shoved a costume in his face. It looked suspiciously like a prince's outfit. "Syusuke-onii-chan looks the best in a prince's outfit!" she said happily. Momo and Echizen snickered in the background and Fuji promptly sent them a glare. They shut up instantly.

Turning back to Kurumi, he pasted his smile back on. "Is that so?" he asked sweetly, taking the costume with only the faintest grimace. "Are you going to be the princess again, Kurumi-chan?"

She shook her head, although she looked quite happy. "Iie! This time I'm not going to do it. I'll be costume director!" Fuji sighed inwardly. This couldn't end well for him. "She'll do it!" Kurumi announced, and with a flourishing movement of her arm, turned around and pointed at her sister. "Asa-onee-chan! Wear this!" She scurried off to dump another costume onto her sister. Her protests were cut off as Kurumi shoved her into one of the dressing rooms. Fuji slipped quietly into another.

_Just today,_ he thought to himself, slipping the top of the outfit over his white school shirt. _I just need to endure about another hour of this. I can do it._ Dressed in the hated prince attire, he stepped out, and a crown was promptly placed on his head by Eiji.

"Kurumi-chan said she forgot to add it with the other stuff she gave you," he said by way of explanation. A silly grin was splashed across his face. "And a prince is nothing without his crown!" he practically sang. Fuji sighed, his smile becoming more strained by the second. _Less than an hour now. Less than an hour._ He had to forcibly stop himself from staring at the clock for too long by pinching himself, which only worked for a few seconds before he was back to staring at the little contraption.

By now, Inui and Kaidoh had already experimented with the picture taking machines, going through all the borders and finally selecting a few (or all of them…). Momo dragged Seigaku's rookie into a booth and the two of them came out minutes later, Ryoma looking as if he had been scarred for life. There was probably a good chance of that, since the boy had never before done anything like this (who needed to when there was tennis?) and he had never seen so many girly things congregated in one small spot (the screen) at one time. This brought slight relief to Fuji's current dark mood. Perhaps he should have dragged him along the first time. And their costumes, too… most of them matched their personalities almost perfectly. Fuji had to say that Inui's scientist get-up quite suited him.

The only pair who seemed to actually enjoy taking the pictures (to a slight degree, of course) was Eiji and Oishi. When they left their booth, Eiji was practically glowing, going on about how he was going to show his family the pictures when they were out. Oishi was silent, agreeing only when he absolutely must, but also saying that it was a nice pastime, being able to spend time with good friends and take pictures with them. Fuji suddenly missed his camera. He'd have to swipe a few of each group's pictures now.

"Ne, one-chan! There's a booth open now!" Kurumi said to the tightly drawn curtains of one of the dressing rooms. Dark, incoherent mumblings came from the other side. "Did you say something?" Kurumi asked innocently, a pleasantly puzzled expression on her face.

"I vote I not do this," came the repeated reply. "It's embarrassing… this dress…" More incoherent mutters.

"It's not bad! I picked it because it was cute!" Kurumi protested. A groan from the other side was her only answer. The grade-schooler sighed, before opening the curtains with a snap of her wrists. "C'mon, onee-chan!" She smiled faintly at her sister, giving a clap of her hands. "It's perfect! Onee-chan needs to wear things like this more often.

Said sister blanched. "I'd rather not," she mumbled, and tried to retreat as far back as possible only for Kurumi to grab her wrist and ask, very loudly, "Ne, Syusuke-onii-chan, doesn't onee-chan look like a princess?" If there was ever a time that Asa wanted to smack her sister, now would have been that time.

Fuji glanced up from where he had been trying, unsuccessfully, to get Tezuka to take a few pictures with him. His reason to the captain: 'You've already put on the costume, why not take a few? Saa, it'll be fun!' "Ah…" he started, the rest of his sentence cut off when Eiji draped himself comically over his shoulders.

"This means Aa-chan should not be a member of stage crew, nya!" the redhead scolded the girl. All she could do was sigh, having given up on the idea of getting out of this… predicament of hers. _Must several of these conversations go back to that horrid play?_

"You look nice," Fuji finished. A devilish grin suddenly crossed his face and he abandoned his efforts to move Tezuka to guide her to a photo booth. "Let's see how this turns out. You can pick the frames." And, still talking, he closed the curtain to the booth. There were a few mumbled words, a hint of a small argument, and then silence, followed by a click.

Inside the booth, Asa's fingers were skimming the screen, a slight frown present as she browsed through the selection of available frames. Contrary to his statement, Fuji has picked the first one, and before she knew it a picture had been taken. She gave a faint shake of her head; next time she would have to pick a different kind of present for Kurumi. No doubt her sister thought this was all fun and nice, but her nerves couldn't take much more of this.

And this dress… the shop was certainly well-equipped with a variety of outfits. Such as this 19th Victorian style dress Kurumi had managed to unearth. The bottom was adorned with ribbons, while the top had frilled sleeves. Short sleeves, she had noted, and now one hand strayed to her arm and rubbed it in an attempt to warm it. It was actually chillier than she had thought before. "How about this one?" she asked, pointing to a simple blue border. Not that she gave him any time to answer, selecting it and listening to the monitor give a little 'beep' as it registered this.

"Don't you think that one was a little plain?" Fuji asked, his smiling eyes already searching for another frame. He simply chuckled when he heard her mumble that she was the one who was supposed to be picking the frames. "If it's too plain it isn't fun," he chided, selecting another.

"And I thought you despised these kind of shops," she replied dryly. He said nothing, and there was only a click as another picture was taken.

Five frames later, they left the booth. She had to blink momentarily in order to get used to the lighting, and Kurumi pounced on her, asking questions like: "Was it nice? What kind of frames did you pick?" and the like. These were answered with one word answers, such as: "Yes," and "Eight."

Back in her school uniform, she heaved yet another sigh. Kurumi had finally managed to get Tezuka off of his chair, using some method that she did not under any circumstance want to know of. Instead, she headed over to the counter to pay for all the stickers they got, coming back and handing each group their respective prize of the day. "Thank you for coming," she thanked each of the boys, in which she mostly got nods in return and then left. All except Fuji, who by this time always walked home with her. "Thank you for coming," she mumbled as she left the shop behind Kurumi. "I promise this will never happen again."

He chuckled lightly. "Is that so? It's good to hear." She gave a tiny nod of her head as they continued down the street.

***

Kurumi threw her school stuff into the first closet she found in her house and stormed upstairs. Hanging above the headboard of her bed was a framed photograph of her playing tennis, a picture her mother had taken during one of her competitions. Likewise, Narumi had a similar one hanging in her room.

On the wall directly opposite of her window, was a sheet of paper taped to the wall, with letters that she had carefully printed in markers to read: 'Memories.' She had spent one full afternoon positioning it so that the first rays of morning sun would always hit, hence she always slept with her shades open, so that any light available fell on it. There were only two things currently on that sheet of paper: a family photo her mother had taken (before Asa and her father had returned, when she was ten) and the sticker from the last time she had taken Fuji to the co-play shop.

"We'll need a new family picture," Kurumi observed, throwing the photo a glance as she reached up to stick two more stickers onto the paper. The first one of these two new additions was another of her and Fuji, the second was her sister with him.

Satisfied with their position, she stepped back to admire her handiwork. Sometimes she wondered if he would ever like her. As half a year past, her own initial crush had dwindled slightly.

But only slightly.

She still liked the older boy. She liked the way he was nice to her, spending time to abide with all her antics. Only someone with real patience could do that, she felt, and she liked boys who were the patient type. While his false smile sometimes irked her, it just made her wonder what his real smile looked like.

Heaving a sigh, she flopped backwards onto her bed. _Maybe I should just go after someone in my class,_ she thought, throwing an arm over her eyes, shielding them from the late afternoon sunlight. It was reasonable, but there really was no one in her class quite like Fuji Syusuke.

_I'm hopeless._

A knock on her door made her glance up. Narumi stood in the half-opened doorway, dark hair up in her usual ponytail. "Kurumi, would you like to go practice some tennis?" she asked.

Kurumi smiled, but declined the offer. "I'm tired," she explained, lifting one arm to gesture to her 'Memories' paper. "Onee-chan took me to the co-play shop with all of her friends. It was fun." She sat up, smile widening slightly. "You should have gone, too! There were several dresses that would have made you look really cute!"

Narumi frowned, stepping into her twin's messy room to sit next to her on the bed. "Are you alright, Kurumi?" she asked worriedly. "You never ramble like this unless you're…" she paused, a pout stealing across her face as she searched for the right word.

"I'm fine! Really!" Kurumi was quick to reassure, leaping up from the bed to put on a display that she was indeed fine. "C'mon! I'm starving! Let's get something to eat and watch a video!" Grabbing Narumi's hand, she stampeded out of her room and down the hallway. Asa just managed to dodge her siblings as they crashed into the kitchen.

"There're cookies on the counter," she offered, and Kurumi gave her a wave in answer. Shaking her head and smiling, she left the front hall. Kurumi's door was ajar, so she peeked inside. Her eyes almost instantly found the paper taped to the wall. Curious, she padded closer to better see it. _Ah… Kurumi's favorite memories,_ she mused, eyes travelling from photo to stickers. They lingered on the stickers of Kurumi and Fuji, and another faint shake of her head was the result.

_Likes him, doesn't she?_ She closed the door as she headed out, slipping into her own room. Seika greeted her with a purr and twined around her ankles. She bent down to stroke her cat. _Ne, I wonder… what's it like to like someone?_ She opened her window and leaned forward, letting a breeze play with her bangs. Seika leaped up onto the sill next to her and settled down with a satisfied mew.

A small smile that nearly mirrored her cat flitted over her lips as one hand went to play absentmindedly with the fluffy, white ears. _It must feel nice,_ she decided, closing her eyes with a soft sigh.


	10. Chapter 9

**_Chapter 9_**

Fuji was quite pleased to say that his Christmas was wonderful, in terms of family and such. Yuuta had been convinced to come home, and although he didn't know what method his mother used, he was to be staying for another week at home before he returned to the dorms. Perhaps it had to do with the pies they had after dinner every night? But since it was nee-san's pies, Fuji could eat them for as long as he wanted. They were just that delicious. It was no wonder that pies would be one of Yuuta's conditions of coming home.

His stomach was pleasantly full from dinner; he was curled up on one end of the couch, huddled under a small blanket. Yuuta was similarly curled up on the other end, TV remote in one hand as he flipped through channels in search of something interesting to watch. Their mother and older sister suddenly walked into the room, in which Yuuta surrendered his channel surfing and Fuji glanced up sleepily to the two female members of his family.

Fuji Yoshiko held a crisp, white envelope in her hand as she positioned herself on the overstuffed armchair next to the couch. Yumiko sat down between her brothers, flashing them a brilliant smile before focusing her attention on her mother. "Do you three have any plans for the New Year's?" Yoshiko started by asking her three children.

Fuji frowned thoughtfully. He had to admit, he had been planning a bit of a get-together with the rest of the regulars so that they could chill and do whatever it was that caught their interest on New Year's. But, now that he put a bit more serious thought into it, it would have been selfish of him to drag everyone away from their families. And, like Inui would be prone to state, the chance that he would succeed would be 4.75%. Being him, he would have loved the challenge of getting everyone to join him, but his mother looked quite expectantly at the three of them and he felt that lately, he had been spending quite a lot of time with his tennis friends (if he hadn't already been in the previous two years).

"I have nothing serious planned," he settled with. Yumiko nodded in agreement; she had no boyfriend to drag her off this year. The one she had had before had been… unfit for her, and after enduring for as long as he could handle, Fuji had disposed of him in his own sadistic tensai-like way.

"I've nothing planned, either," Yuuta piped up. "Did you want to do something, kaa-san?" As long as it didn't involve dragging him to the large department stores when they held their annual year-end sales, he was fine. He most certainly did _not_ relish the thought of getting trampled in a shopping rush.

"Ah… about that," Yoshiko said brightly. Now she held out the envelope. "My company holds an annual New Year's celebration for all the staff and their families. I was hoping we could go; the CEO stated specifically that she would like to meet all three of you."

Here, Yumiko, Fuji, and Yuuta looked surprised. Them? Their mother's boss would like to see _them_? It was strange. Fuji was about to voice this out loud when his mother cut in to explain.

"The CEO's daughter goes to the same school as you, Syusuke," she stated. Her smile widened in a satisfied mother way. "I've heard some wonderful things from her about you. I'm very pleased to hear that." Fuji chuckled softly, almost in embarrassment. Ah, yes… most of the time mothers could be pleasantly cheerful with good work in school. While he was quite pleased with the praise himself, inside he wondered who this CEO's daughter was. And then he wondered how on earth they knew how he was doing in school. Or maybe that was what a woman's willpower could do. He had once read in one of Yumiko's books that it was quite powerful.

"A setup then, is it?" he teased. Yoshiko frowned slightly, although she couldn't help but chuckle a bit, while Yumiko elbowed him gently in the ribs. "Just kidding, just kidding," he amended. "It'd be cool to see what kind of place kaa-san works at. We've never been there, have we?"

Yumiko shook her head. "Not since kaa-san got the new job as secretary. I'm looking forward to it. What about you, Yuuta?" A muffled 'yes' came from the mass of blankets on the other end, signaling Yuuta's answer. "Well… it's late now," Yumiko murmured with a glance at the clock.

Yoshiko tucked the invitation back into its envelope and stood. "Indeed. Did you finish all of your homework from before break, Syusuke?" Yuuta was half-asleep, so she probably wouldn't get a coherent answer from her youngest. She'd ask him tomorrow, when he was more awake.

Fuji bobbed his head up and down. Most of his teachers had been nice. Only his Classics teacher had decided to pile homework on her class, but he had finished it already. "Is the sky clear tonight?" he suddenly asked.

Yoshiko looked up in surprise from where she was rearranging the blankets around Yuuta's body, having failed to rouse him from sleep and instead deciding to leave him on the couch for the night after she had seen that he was tucked snugly in. Yumiko was halfway out of the living room door, headed for the shower. She now paused and pivoted on her right foot to contemplate her brother and his newest request.

"Yes… I believe the skies are clear tonight," she said. "Why? Do you want to see constellations?"

Fuji gave another nod, stretching and then getting off of the couch. "Yeah," he murmured. "Just let me make a phone call." So saying, he padded past his sister into the hall.

Yumiko's worried voice called after him. "Isn't it a little late to be calling someone to go stargazing with you, Syusuke?" she asked, stepping into the hall, followed closely by Yoshiko. "And it's cold; surely you don't plan on staying outside and watching them. Your room has a skylight, doesn't it?" Of course she knew that his room had a skylight. "You could invite a few friend's over in the next few days and you can see from the skylight. It'll be much warmer."

Fuji smiled brightly, noting that his sister made some good points, although he was stubborn. "Tonight," he said matter-of-factly, picking up the phone from its cradle and dialing in a number.

Yoshiko placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder, giving a small shake of her head. Yumiko sighed in defeat; it looked like she would not be able to shake her brother's decision. She just hoped that whoever he was dialing didn't plan on getting to bed early tonight. When stargazing with Syusuke, he and whoever he dragged along with him usually didn't get back until around midnight.

"Dress warmly," Yoshiko cautioned. Fuji gave an obedient nod. "It's cold outside and I don't want you getting sick. And since you won't be moving much, wear a sweater under your jacket." Yumiko headed upstairs for her shower as she began making her way to the kitchen. Halfway there, she turned around to face him again. "Oh, and don't forget to bring a pair of gloves with you. Your hands will freeze if you don't."

Fuji fought back the amusement in his smile. Trust his mother to still treat him like a small child at times. "Hai, kaa-san," he replied, setting the phone to his ear as he waited for the person he dialed to pick up.

***

"Are you sure you don't want to go?"

Asa heaved a sigh, closing her Chemistry book, leaving the homework page half completed on her desk as she spun around in her chair to glower at her sisters. Both wore pleading expressions on their faces. Both had been asking the same exact question for a solid ten minutes.

"Are you absolutely, positively, sure you aren't going?"

She sighed again, shutting off her lamp. At this rate, Chemistry would have to wait until later. "I don't want to go," she said simply. "Of course, that leaves no doubt that I will be dragged by force over there, so yes, I'll be going. Whether I like it or not."

Both girls brightened up considerably, pouncing on her to give a hug and saying, "Thank you!" before, quite literally, dancing out her bedroom door. Giving the wall directly opposite her open door a scathing look, she stood and headed out of her room, shutting it quietly behind her with the intent of keeping her cat from wandering around. She had planned to give Seika a bath tonight, and her cat hated bathes. This meant that she needed to lock her fluffy companion up until she could guarantee at least an hour of having the bathroom all to herself, in which she could wrestle with the feline and hope to get some part of her fur clean.

Or… the entire bathroom would get wet. Usually, it was the latter of the two that was accomplished.

"Otou-san, Okaa-san, do I have to go?" she nearly whined as she entered the living room, flopping down onto the couch next to her father, who was deeply engrossed in a book of his. "I don't like social gatherings and it's too cold to do anything that even involves poking your head out the door." She hated winter, with all of its long nights and freezing snow, and the blizzards that obscured her view so that all she could see was a furiously moving wall of white.

She preferred spring, when it was warming up but still retained a slight chilliness. She enjoyed the spring rains and the blooming sakura blossoms. Summers got too hot for her likings. Fall was alright, but she didn't like them because they signified the coming winter.

Yes, she did hope spring came soon. Then she wouldn't be freezing half of the time, especially when she was walking to school.

Her father raised an eyebrow at her. "It's an annual thing," he began, frowning as he regarded his daughter with a critical eye. Then he grinned. "You should go! It'll be a fun experience and maybe you'll meet a few nice young men there!" Her head drooped in embarrassment, her shoulders hunched in defeat. There was no escaping anything when he breached the boyfriend subject or anything remotely related to it. Oh, why did she have to have such a person for a father?

"I don't want a boyfriend. I thought I've told you already at least a hundred times," she hissed through clenched teeth, fearful that Kurumi was hiding somewhere close by and listening, her 'Girl's Horoscope Book' close at hand. No, she most definitely did _not_ want Kurumi to be entangled with whatever Kami-sama decided to chuck her way in terms of love and relationships and boys. That would prove… disastrous, seeing as one of Kurumi's newest hobbies was setting up dates for her school friends that were too shy to ask their crushes out. According to Narumi, she acted as a sort of matchmaker at times.

She shuddered inwardly. _Scary,_ she thought, although she had to applaud Kurumi for her supposed matchmaking skills.

"I could implore Kurumi to lend us her skills. That will keep something to occupy your time with. I'm sure you won't be bored." She gaped at him. He must have been joking. He could _only_ have been joking.

It would have been much easier for her to believe that if he didn't have such a serious expression on his face. Asa decided that now was a wonderful time to leave the room.

"I'll go… ah…" Her eyes turned towards the ceiling, as if the perfect excuse to leave was taped up there and all she had to do was read it. At that moment, the phone rang, its shrill ringing tones penetrating the otherwise quiet house. Instantly, she leapt up. "I'll get it!" she said hurriedly before fleeing the immediate vicinity. "Moshimoshi," she spoke into the receiving end of the phone. "This is the Ijuuin residence. Could I ask who is calling?"

"I'm sorry for the disturbance. Is it too late?"

An eerily familiar voice was on the other side of the line, and she blinked in surprise before the name registered in her mind. "Ah! Fuji-kun!" she exclaimed, and then paused, feeling a shiver cruise up and down her body as she pivoted slowly, phone tucked securely between her shoulder and her chin. Both her parents had an I-knew-it look on their faces as they regarded her from the entrance to the living room. She would have gladly moved places, except that their phone wasn't cordless and she couldn't unplug the thing and move at the same time, all the while maintaining a conversation. So she settled with a sulky glare.

On the other end, Fuji must have taken her silence for agreement that it was too late. "I'm sorry," he apologized, and she thought she detected a tinge of disappointment in his voice. "I didn't notice how late it was."

"Iie! It's not too late. Did you want something?" she asked, pointedly turning her back on her smirking father and starry-eyed mother and focusing her eyes on the wall. She had to wonder… they hadn't been assigned any English homework and Fuji normally only called occasionally to ask if he could borrow her dictionary.

"Do you have a couple hours to spare?"

His request caught her off guard, and she was silent for another few moments. "For what?" she asked cautiously.

A light chuckle came from him, and she wondered if she had done anything to anger him in the past three days. That was the only explanation she could come up with for him randomly calling her at a time like this. "Just dress warmly and be ready to leave your house. I'll be over to pick you up in five minutes. Ja!" There was silence, then the steady beeping as he hung up.

She had no choice but to put the phone back into its cradle, and her parents pounced on her like famished wolves who had found a defenseless deer. "Who was it?" her father demanded almost instantly. "Ah, Fuji-kun, was it? The boy with the brown hair and smiling face I met at the parking lot a few days before break?" She nodded, and her mother was suddenly there, demanding to know what he had wanted, to which she could only truthfully say that she didn't know, that he was coming to pick her up in five minutes.

"Aa-chan's never been on a date before," her father mused, frowning slightly. She flushed bright pink and left to dig out her coat and a pair of gloves. Fuji _wasn't_ her boyfriend, and he most certainly was _not_ asking her out on a date. There was simply no way Fuji could be her boyfriend, not when he had so many fangirls who nearly worshipped the ground he walked on. "Be good and don't embarrass yourself!" he called cheekily up the stairs.

In answer, she simply dumped a bottle of shampoo, a few catnip toys, and an assortment of brushes into his arms when she came back downstairs. "Seika needs a bath," she said bluntly. "Thanks." She didn't even bother to see his reaction as she went to the front door, although she could have sworn a predatory smile crossed his face. _What a scary father…_

The doorbell rang, and she opened the front door to find Fuji, all dressed to brave the cold December night, a long scarf wrapped snugly around his neck. "Saa… are you ready?" he asked lightly. He nodded hello to her father, who gave him a wave in acknowledgement before vanishing into the living room to continue reading his book, most likely planning on putting off Seika's bath until the last minute. Fuji then turned his gaze to her, scrutinizing her appearance. "We'll be walking for a while. Are you sure that's enough?"

"Hai. It can't be too cold outside, can it?" A note of anxiety had crept into her voice as she stepped outside. _It's not too bad,_ she thought as she followed him down the walkway, pausing at the edge of the road to examine the empty street. "Where are we going?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"I'll tell you when we get there." He refused to surrender any more information, so she could only plod along after him as he began making his way down the silent streets.

***

As it turned out, her original opinion about it not being too cold was proved wrong after walking for ten minutes to Fuji's designated spot. The cold wing nipped at her nose and her cheeks, turning them into a pleasant shade of pink. Every few steps she's pause briefly and shiver. Perhaps she should have put on that extra sweater that was lying at the foot of her bed. Then maybe she wouldn't be feeling so miserable right now.

"We're here," Fuji announced. His verbal warning was the only thing that stopped her from running straight into him, as he had stopped and she had been too wrapped up in her own thoughts to notice. Now she took the time and glanced around at her surroundings.

The place wasn't anything particularly eye-catching. Under the light of a few lone streetlamps positioned by the side of the main road, she could see that they were on the grassy slopes of a river. Behind them, the slope went up to meet with the road. Few cars travelled it, so it was relatively quiet. Half of the area was shrouded in gentle black shadows, and having stopped moving, it seemed even colder here than on the trip.

"Have you ever gone stargazing?" Fuji asked innocently. He had moved so that he stood a little ways away from her, his head inclined to the sky as his eyes scanned the heavens. "You can see quite a lot of constellations in December. Have you ever seen Aries?"

She shook her head wordlessly, moving forward so that she stood next to her, tilting her head back to scan the stars as well. To her, they just looked like a scattered mess of tiny pinpricks of light. Frowning, her eyes roved from one star to another, trying and failing to find any grouping of stars that even vaguely resembled a constellation.

Something warm suddenly grabbed her hand, and her arm was raised upward so that it pointed at the sky. "See; right there," Fuji said patiently, controlling her hand and pointing it at a star. "See that big star right there? It's called Hamal, and it's in Aries' forehead." He then proceeded to use her hand and point to the rest of the stars that made up that constellation, until she had a slight picture of it in her mind.

"And over there is Perseus, a Greek hero," Fuji continued, the same patient tone in his voice. Not relinquishing his hold on her hand, he continued to use it to point at the stars. "Do you see it, now?" he asked, after he had helped her trace it. Her response was a barely audible "Ah," and he gave a satisfied nod, letting go of her hand to see if he could locate any more constellations.

"My favorite one is Pisces. It's a pity we can't see it in December." He let out a soft sigh. "A real pity… it was just out last month, too."

Asa furrowed her brow as she gazed upwards, her eyes tracing the stars that formed Aries. "Pisces is the Fishes, right?" she asked. A nod came from her companion as she tried to remember what some of the constellations looked like. She remembered reading a book on it once. "I suppose my favorite one would be…" she paused as she thought. "I suppose it would be the Phoenix. It looked nice in the book…" She trailed off, a thoughtful expression on her face. "I wonder when you can see that one…"

"That one's in November, as well."

"Ah… is it? I'd love to see it personally."

"It's actually not that bad of a constellation. A little tricky to find, though," Fuji murmured. "Aa-chan, may I ask something?"

"Go ahead."

"Why did your dad look so happy when I came over?" She swore there was a teasing note in his voice. He was laughing at her. Wonderful.

"Um… about that…" she sighed miserably, "I'd rather not get onto that topic," she finally admitted.

A few poorly muffled laughs came from the genius as he tucked his gloved hands into his pockets. "Your father wants you to get a boyfriend, doesn't he?"

She glared sideways at him. "What on earth gave you that idea?" she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. When she returned her gaze to the sky, her dark mood only darkened when she found that she had lost the position of Aries _and_ Perseus. Was she such a bad student that she forgot things in the space of three minutes?

"Aries is right there." She jumped when Fuji's voice spoke in her ear and his arm suddenly appeared in her field of vision, pointing to a star. "Remember? That's Hamal, its forehead." He turned to look at her, noting her pink cheeks and that half-smile that was present on her face when she relocated the constellations. "You need to get out more in the winter," he stated quietly. "The cold makes you look nicer."

"Hmm…?" Startled, she turned her gaze to him, and he turned his away. His eyes were open in a mixture of puzzlement. He honestly had no idea why he had said it… it just, slipped out on its own accord.

The only problem was that Fuji didn't believe that things like that happened. He believed that conscious thought drew out every sentence that any person said.

So he would be lying to himself if he said that it had come out on its own.

Clearing his throat, he turned back to her, thankful that the lamplights weren't strong enough to reveal his face in stark clarity. "Saa… it's getting late. We should go back; do you have a curfew?"

She laughed lightly, seeming to have forgotten his previous statement, a fact of which he was glad. "If I had one, I wouldn't have been able to come in the first place," she said breezily, although she turned herself away from the river and started trudging up the slopes. Fuji followed after a few seconds of hesitation.

"Ne, Aa-chan," he mused when he had walked her to her doorway. She cocked her head at him, her hand pausing on the doorknob. "Thanks for coming with me. We should do it again, sometime, ne?"

She considered his offer for a minute before nodding, although looking very serious. "Kindly pick a warmer month, then, Fuji-kun," she stated. "Aries was wonderful, but it _is_ freezing to stand in one spot for a long period of time."

"If you say so." He nodded goodbye and gave her a simple smile before heading off toward the warmth of his own home, and she let herself into her quiet house, mentally bracing herself for any onslaught that might come at her. None came, and she toed off her shoes before stepping into the front hall, shrugging out of her coat and hanging it up in the closet while tossing her gloves into the small box placed on the floor. Vaguely, she wondered if her father gave Seika the needed bath.

On the way to her room and her bed, she happened to glance at herself in the mirror. Her cheeks were still pink. _It's from the cold,_ she said to herself fervently. It was from the cold; nothing more.

_'You need to get out more in the winter. The cold makes you look nicer.'_

Her cheeks flushed into a deeper shade of red and she practically flew into her room, shutting the door behind her and heaving a sigh, sinking down into a sitting position and drawing her knees up into her chest. _Why do I care about it? He probably just thinks that my health is poor or something or that I'm too pale normally._ Which it was, truly, but still…

A book was lying open on her desk, and when she straightened up and saw it, she automatically drew it towards her. To her dismay, it was a horoscope, but she decided to read it nonetheless. 'Your new year will be full with a myriad of conflicting feelings,' it read. She groaned to herself, rubbing her frigid hands together in an attempt to warm them.

"Sleep," she commanded to herself, finding a pair of pajamas and slipping out of her regular clothes to don the comfy sleepwear. "Sleep and think of it tomorrow." She climbed almost gratefully into her bed and snuggled down, drawing the covers tightly around her small self, wishing that her nest would warm up more quickly. Something fluffy nudged her leg as she started to slip off to sleep, and she concluded in what consciously awake part of her brain that it was Seika trying to make herself comfortable on the mattress without the fear of getting squished by her owner should said girl decide to toss and turn during the night.

For now, life was good. She didn't have to worry about boys named Fuji or strange sentences that could have multiple meanings. She didn't have to worry about horoscopes that predicted the coming year.

Life was good when you were falling asleep.


	11. Chapter 10

**_Chapter 10_**

Asa glanced at herself in the mirror and couldn't help but wonder at whom she was seeing. Since when had her mother taken both Kurumi and Narumi to the store in order to get appropriate evening attire and had picked out something for her as well? Had she not been paying attention to the going-on around her own house?

She frowned at herself upon reaching this conclusion before heaving a sigh. A glance at her bedside clock yielded that it was already six in the afternoon. They would be leaving soon for her mother's company party. _Well, I guess there really is no way out of it, is there?_ A wry smile found its way to her lips as she took one last look at her reflection before leaving her room.

"Are we all ready?" Her mother looked absolutely stunning in her dress of dark blue, with matching sapphire earrings present on the lobes of her ears. Her father had settled with the more casual look, but it fitted his frame as well. In her mind, Kurumi looked adorable in maroon colored dress. Narumi had one that was similar in style, but a light blue in color.

"I guess," Asa answered almost nervously, while the twins seemed quite happy to be going.

Her mother smiled at her. "I'm sure you'll like it. A friend of yours will also be attending." At this comment, she didn't know whether or not she should be glad or secretly mortified. "Oh… and the vice president will be present as well. He has a son and a daughter your age. I'm sure--?" She never got to finish as Asa had a look on her face that said, very clearly, 'I'll decide when I get there.' A light chuckle came from the woman. "Ah, of course. I forget you like to experience things for yourself." Now a puzzled look crossed Asa's face as her mother brushed past her, wrapping herself up in her coat and then ushering the whole family out to the car.

_Since when was that conclusion made?_ she asked herself as she sat in the back of the car, leaning her cheek against the window. It was freezing, a sharp contrast to her face which was made warm by the blood rushing in the veins just under the surface. Presently, a hand shook her shoulder and she lifted herself off of the door before it opened, saving her the misery of falling out of the car. Literally.

Kurumi looked up briefly at the large building they were to be entering before falling back to chat with Narumi. Asa just stared. "Sugoi…" she breathed. These large buildings she had seen on many occasions, but this was the first time she could actually go in one without feeling that she didn't really belong there.

"It's impressive, isn't it?" A hand fell on her shoulder as her mother stopped to look as well. She grinned suddenly, saying, "Especially the elevators. Tonight you must ride the elevators."

"Even if I don't need to go to any of the upper floors?"

"Even if. Those elevators are amazing. It would be a pity to just miss them when they're so close at hand!" Asa sighed to herself, wondering if it was normal for someone who held such a high position to rant on an on about elevators. An image of her mother suddenly riding the elevators constantly, up and down and up and down, popped unbidden into her mind and she turned partially away, masking a giggle in a strangled cough. "Are you feeling well, Asa?" was the resulting worried question.

She straightened herself immediately. "Yes, I'm feeling quite well," she responded quickly.

"Very well. Let's go then. There's no use in standing around in the parking lot."

***

The lobby was packed with people. _A lot of people must work in this company…_ Almost instinctively, Asa began moving toward the wall, seeing a corner which had a large, leafy, potted plant nearby that could effectively shield her if she didn't want to be seen. And in truth, she didn't, not yet, at least.

She had made it halfway to her corner when a boy her age stepped up to her. Brown eyes regarded her from behind round glasses. A seemingly self-confident smirk was on his face. Dark bangs covered his forehead, moving down to cover his neck in a shaggy mess. He seemed to be able to sum up her actions in a glance. "That corner is already taken," he said, pointing to said corner. She blinked once, then twice, before glancing again at the corner in question. _Ah… it **is** occupied already…_

Out loud, she said, "My mistake. Thank you very much," while offering the boy a polite boy. He gave a vague wave of his hand, almost as if waving away her apology. She didn't know whether to be irked or relieved.

"Oi, Miho. You can't stay there forever." The boy was now addressing whoever had taken the corner, and Asa followed his gaze to see a girl step out. _Is that Miho?_ Asa wondered as her head tipped to the side. The boy redirected his attention to her. "Forgive my rudeness," he said formally. Now it was his turn to give a slight bow. "My name is Oshitari Yuushi, and this is my sister Oshitari Miho. We are pleased to meet you." He straightened up, and then Miho piped up.

"We haven't seen you before, have we, nii-san? Are you perhaps the daughter of one of the new employees?" Miho was taller than her, so Asa had to tip her head slightly upwards in order to fully see her face (the same went to her brother, Yuushi). She had the same brown eyes as he did, although with a certain tint of mischief that reminded her so very much of Eiji. Identical dark hair was pulled into a short ponytail that bounced cheerfully whenever she moved her head.

Asa was stunned for a few moments before she gathered her composure. Oshitari? She didn't know anyone from that family personally but she had heard the name juggled around the dinner table at times, and the extent of her knowledge was that the Oshitari family was rich, and worked with the company her mother did. "It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Oshitari-kun and Oshitari-chan," she said politely. "I am Ijuuin Asa."

Now it was their turn to be momentarily stunned, an expression, she discovered with glee (perhaps she was hanging around Fuji too much these days… to take pleasure in such things) that bordered sadism, that did not seem to have the honor of gracing Oshitari Yuushi's face often. Miho recovered first, although there was a tiny hint of wariness in her voice when she addressed her again. "Ijuuin?" she asked. "Does that make you Kurumi-chan and Narumi-chan's older sister?" To accentuate her point, she turned slightly to point to the two elementary school girls, who were currently helping themselves to the vast variety of food available and chatting cheerfully as they did so.

"Yes, that would make me their older sister."

"How come we don't see you at Hyotei, then?" Oshitari asked the question this time, one eyebrow raised in speculation.

"I've enrolled in Seigaku," Asa replied, with a slight hint of pride embedded in her voice. Seigaku was a nice school, with really nice people like Eiji (but only because that was the first name that popped into her head). "Am I to assume that both of you attend Hyotei Academy?" she asked, because it was polite and her mother was currently sending her glances that conveyed a thought along the lines of: 'Be social tonight since you came all the way here.'

Miho shook her head. "Iie. Nii-san attends Hyotei. I attend Seigaku, Class 3-2."

"Isn't that Oishi's class?" Asa jumped at a new voice that was speaking very close to her ears. Out of the corner of her eye she saw wisps of brown, and with a slight turn of her head, she saw the person they belonged to. "It's a surprise to see you here instead of at a tournament, Oshitari-kun."

Fuji Syusuke. A frown unintentionally crossed over her face as the current bane of her existence stood just behind her left shoulder, eternal smile plastered on his face. Miho, on the other hand, was thrilled at the sight of him. "Fuji-sama!" she said brightly, clapping her hands together. "I didn't know one of your parents worked here!"

"My mother recently got a job as a secretary to the CEO of this company," Fuji replied.

The information clicked in Asa's mind as she gave a snap of her fingers. "Oh! Okaa-san's new secretary is your mother, Fuji-kun?"

His smile faltered for just a split second. Okaa-san… had she just said okaa-san? "Hai. She just started working here a couple months ago. Is your mother…?"

Oshitari pushed up his glasses with the index finger of his right hand, and there was a glint in them. "This company is run jointly by the Oshitari and Ijuuin families," he proceeded to announce. "It has been said that the Oshitari family provides the assets to the company, while the Ijuuins provide the brains, although my family is just as capable as hers in that regard." His gaze slid over to Asa, and he had faint satisfaction in seeing her frown deepen ever so slightly.

"In short, my mother is the CEO while Oshitari-kun's father is the vice president," Asa said. "See? That's my mother over there." Fuji followed her finger to where it was pointing to the middle-aged woman as she talked with his own mother. Almost as if she felt that she was being stared at, she turned and smiled at them, saying something to Fuji's mother before they proceeded to drift towards one of the tables with food.

"I see," Fuji murmured finally. He wondered why he didn't feel unsettled from hearing that Asa was his mother's boss's daughter. Or maybe he just had a gut feeling about it long ago. He couldn't quite place his finger on it.

At this time, Yuuta sauntered up with a plate laden with food (mostly the sweets). He held it out, a subtle way to ask his brother if he wanted any. Fuji smiled brightly and took one of the small cakes that were piled in no particularly neat order on it. "Thanks, Yuuta." Yuuta shrugged, and then offered some to the others. Miho and Asa took one each, thanking him as they did so. Oshitari declined politely with a shake of his head and a word of mouth.

"I've eaten already," Oshitari explained.

Miho chuckled, swallowing her bite of cake. "Nii-san ate a late lunch. He must still be full." Oshitari frowned at his smiling sister, who simply grinned back, popping the rest of the sticky treat into her mouth. "You can't say no to the truth!" she said brightly, licking her sticky fingers with an expression bordering bliss. "Mmm… these are really good!" she said. "I think I'll go get some more! Asa-chan, you can come, too!" And then she dragged her along to the refreshment table, leaving Fuji, Yuuta, and Yuushi standing along in the corner.

"The next tournament," Yuushi said slowly, pushing his glasses to a steadier position on the bridge of his nose again. "Should we be facing each other in the next available tournament, my Higuma Otoshi will defeat yours."

Fuji raised an eyebrow. "I thought your Higuma Otoshi threat was directed mainly at Momo?" he asked.

"There is no law that states that." Oshitari fixed Fuji with a hard stare. "The next tournament… Hyotei will definitely defeat Seigaku!"

Fuji chuckled, giving a tilt of his head. "I look forward to it," he said brightly.

***

Miho tugged at her brother's arm as she watched the other people at the party. "I never heard of this," she said in amazement. Her brother frowned as she continued to tug.

"That's because you never really stay for this part," Oshitari said sourly. He readjusted his glasses as he observed the rest of the people. "This is another thing we do every year," he explained to Fuji. "A dance."

"A dance?" the Fujis and Asa repeated.

Oshitari nodded. "Exactly. This one right now is a waltz. You do know how to do it, do you?"

"I remember nee-san once took classes in ballroom dancing when she was little…" Fuji murmured, resulting in a shocked look from Yuuta. "Remember, Yuuta? Nee-san taught us a little, too." A sharp shake of his head confirmed that Yuuta no longer remembered.

"Syusuke! Yuuta!" The sister in question suddenly walked towards them, a bright smile on her face. "Would one of you like to dance with me?" Yuuta was closest to her, so she attached herself onto the arm of her youngest brother. "How about it, Yuuta? I'll teach you all the steps!" Yuuta's weak protests were cut off as he was hauled off to learn how to do the waltz by Yumiko.

At the same time, Oshitari turned to Asa with a gentleman-like air about him. "May I?" he asked. Miho grinned, and before Asa could respond, she had piped out an "of course!" Oshitari frowned again at his sister, while Asa simply heaved a sigh. Fuji, too, had a tiny frown on his face that was gone almost as soon as it came, replaced by a sinister smile.

"You'll need to take off your coat, Aa-chan," he chided, and Asa looked down to notice that she _did_ still have the coat around her, although it was no longer zippered shut. Now she clutched it as if it were a lifeline, uttering a firm protest, in which she regretted almost instantaneously. Miho gave a tug at her wrists and Fuji, probably thoroughly enjoying her discomfort, pulled off the heavy outerwear with an expert yank. Oshitari just watched with a puzzled expression on his face. Honestly, must they go through such measures?

"Give it back, Fuji-kun," she said quietly, turning her back on Yumiko and Yuuta, who had paused in their trip to the center of the lobby to glance curiously back behind them. Fuji chuckled, shaking his head, and instead asked for the direction of the closet, in which he then trotted off to deposit the coat. Asa had no choice but to be led off by a steady hand on her arm.

"Do you know how to do a waltz?" Oshitari asked when they found a spot. Fuji, having returned from putting the coat away, had agreed to Miho's request and the two of them had situated themselves nearby.

She shook her head. "No…" Never in her life had she imagined herself doing anything like this.

"I see… it's easy, though. You'll get the hang of it pretty soon." He started counting under his breath and moving, and she had no choice but to follow him and try not to step on his feet. _I should have tried harder to not come,_ she thought miserably. Her one consolation was that she was actually beginning to understand the step sequence. A small smile that bordered a smirk was on his face, while the ground under their feet was suddenly very appealing to the girl. Presently, they stopped, while he gave a mock bow to her and thanked her. She responded likewise, and then leaned against the wall to observe the rest of the things that were happening.

She watched silently as Fuji disengaged himself from Kurumi after her sister had gotten him to dance once with her. There was no surprise there, Kurumi _did_ like the boy and she didn't think much about it, of course, that was taking out the fact that Fuji was older than her by three years and regarded her as a younger sister. Kurumi's chances with him were slim, but she still believed in them. She thought it was interesting.

"Aa-chan, how long have we known each other?" Fuji asked when he came up besides her to lean against the wall.

His question surprised her, and she took her time in answering. "About two and a half to three months?" she offered. The exact number she could not place her finger on. But who would normally keep track of these things? "Why do you ask?" she inquired innocently.

He turned to her, a very serious expression on his face. "I was thinking… the other night when we went stargazing." At the very mention of it her cheeks suddenly got warmer.

"Oh… that…"

Fuji rushed on, and she noted with a raised eyebrow that he seemed kind of… nervous? Anxious? Hopeful? It was probably a combination of the three, although the first two were rather similar in definition. "Anyways, I was thinking, and I really need to ask you something," he said in a hurry. She gave a faint nod, waiting for him to continue.

"Do you--?"

She never got to hear the rest of his sentence. Oshitari came up with his parents, and she had to turn away from Fuji to speak to the other head, slightly less in power but still no less a head, of the company who was hosting the party. She never noticed Fuji's near dejected facial expression. She never noticed the way his hands clenched into fists at his sides, or the way his smile was forced (with practiced ease, of course) when the Oshitari parents glanced at him.

She didn't wonder again about what he was going to say until she got back home. And even then, she didn't pay it too much mind as she fell asleep, exhausted by the day's ordeals. The first part of Fuji's sentence buried itself into the back of her mind as she curled up with her cat under the comforter, every once in a while a faint purr resonating from beneath the sheets as the cat moved herself to a more comfortable position.

_'Do you--?'_

_Do I what, Fuji-kun?_

Slowly, she forgot about it as the night wore on, her mind's database shuffling it to somewhere underneath all of the other things in there. And Fuji? He didn't know whether or not to be angry at Oshitari for interrupting him or extremely thankful, although he had a good feeling it was definitely not the latter of the two, due to his pride. His blankets rustled as he shifted to his side, staring at his wall.

"Do you have a special person, Asa…?"

* * *

A/N: Wahh! I'm sorry, Teresa... Miho doesn't seem too much like you at this point but I promise it will get better! Slightly...! I think I made her a bit too much like Eiji...

To anyone else who reads this and opposes to multiple OC characters in a fic (I don't think I should even be typing this part, it's rather redunent, I think), but Oshitari Miho will be the only other main OC. And I read somewhere that Oshitari has an older sister... so we'll just pretend she's at college, 'cause they have the money to send her off. ^^


	12. Chapter 11

_**Chapter 11**_

"Good morning, everyone!" One excited Oshitari Miho was standing at the school gates, waving enthusiastically to Fuji and Asa as the two of them walked up to the gates. "Did you enjoy your breaks? I've been waiting for you two for five minutes, now!" And she proceeded to berate them, much to Fuji's growing amusement.

"You have…?" Asa was finally able to put in when Miho paused for breath, contemplating whether or not she should be worried about the way Miho had so easily attached herself to her. Although Miho's lively personality did wonders at times, Asa couldn't help but have to pinch herself a few times whenever Miho had spontaneously shown up at her doorstep in the duration of the break in order to ensure that she wasn't still sleeping. Oftentimes, her brother had been dragged along, and the two girls found a bit of amusement in proceeding to plan a shopping spree or something like that and forcing Oshitari to come along. She heaved a sigh. He was so agreeable most of the time that it wasn't much fun to do that. Pity.

_Ah… I really am starting to be like Fuji-kun,_ she thought with a faint smile to herself, though promptly stepping back as a hand entered her field of vision.

"Earth to Asa-chan!" Miho said, glancing at her new friend. Fuji noticed with an amused little lift of the corners of his mouth that Asa had to tip her head upwards, a frown making itself perfectly at home on her face as she regarded Miho. "Ne, you spaced out," Miho explained, "I didn't think the cold could do that."

Asa shook her head. "It doesn't. You must be thinking of something else. Possibly something from those manga books you bought yesterday afternoon?" Miho huffed at her rebuke, crossing her arms across her chest and exclaiming that there was nothing wrong with the content of the books she had bought.

Fuji cocked his head to one side. "Oh? You went shopping yesterday, Miho-chan?" he asked. Normally, he wouldn't ask, but since they were discussing books, his mind suddenly remembered something that he had previously forgotten. "Did you stop at the bookstore…? You know, the one across from the sporting goods store?" He refrained himself from adding 'the one that never has the equipment you look for,' especially with a sour tone in his voice. Miho nodded, a few quick movements of her head. Her hair, put up once again in its cheerful little ponytail, bounced up and down against the nape of her neck as she did so. "Did you happen to see if they had any new photography books on sale?" He had wanted to get one for himself for a long time now, but had never really had the chance to go to that part of town.

Miho shook her head, a tad bit embarrassed. She hadn't really looked. "Ne, Asa-chan… did you see any?" she asked, giving a faint tug at her friend's wrist.

Asa chuckled lightly, reaching into her schoolbag. "Well… this one looked really nice when I was browsing, so I decided to buy it." She brought out a leather-bound book, not too thick but still not incredibly short in page numbers. "See? It's quite nice… the theme is flowers." She flipped it open for Fuji and Miho to see. Photographs of different kinds of flowers in all different directions filled the glossy pages.

Fuji let out a sigh. "Saa… they had this one? I wish I could have gotten it…" He was surprised when the book was suddenly placed in his hands, giving Asa a curious glance as his fingers curled around the edges of the book.

"I'll let you borrow it!" she said brightly, grinning up at him, "since you seem to like photography so much. Maybe I should have bought a copy for you; they had more for sale."

Miho gave a dramatic sigh. "If we had gone earlier you could have bought it and given it to Fuji-sama as a Christmas present," she said, pivoting on her leg to head into the school building. She hadn't gone more then two steps when she stopped. "Presents! I totally forgot about them this year!"

"You mean last year, don't you?" Fuji asked gently, tucking the book into his bag and promising to return it as soon as he finished looking through it.

Miho whirled on him. "This year, last year, they're all the same," she retorted. Fuji looked slightly taken aback, but otherwise said nothing. Not that Miho cared anyway, because she was furiously scribbling into a small journal she had pulled out of her bag.

Asa coughed politely as she searched for something to say in order to interrupt Miho's stream of incoherent mumblings, although Fuji interpreted it as something entirely different, and instantly both girls found themselves being steered towards the warmth of the school. The warmth was welcoming, washing over cold cheeks and freezing hands. "The joys of heating," Asa said happily. She paused momentarily to look out the window at the snow covering the grass just outside the window, and Fuji, not quite paying too much attention to where he was going (trying as he was to look at the flower photographs and walk at the same time), nearly bumped straight into her. "Gomen, Fuji-kun!" she squeaked when her shoulder bumped into his chest. He offered a light chuckle, brushing it off as if it never happened before continuing to attempt to make his way down the hall and stare at the pictures without any further near accidents.

And he was nearly successful, too, except for one tiny problem.

Kikumaru Eiji.

"Mou, Eiji-kun must have had a wonderful night's sleep to be this excited this early in the morning," Miho noted dryly as the two girls watched Eiji attach himself to Fuji's back (or rather, Fuji's tennis bag) while emitting an incredibly loud ''Morning Fujiko-chan!' Everyone who wasn't a third year jumped and gave them odd looks, muttering darkly under their breathes. The third years just continued walking as if nothing had happened. They were used to Eiji's antics by now, and knew about his habit of glomping his friends. It was nothing new.

Asa smiled as she tipped her head to the side. "It certainly seems that way," she said happily, "but it would be worrying if Eiji-kun didn't act like that, wouldn't it?" At this, Miho gave a nod. Yes, it would be worrying if Eiji didn't act like he normally did. The warning bell suddenly rang, and Asa jumped. "Classes are going to start!" she cried. Both girls groaned, not relishing running up three flights of stairs and then to the opposite side of the school in order to make it to their classes.

Miho grabbed her wrist and proceeded to drag Asa down the hall to the nearest staircase, bypassing Fuji and Eiji in the process. "C'mon, let's go! No time to run to our lockers; we'll just have to make do with getting into the classroom on time." The rest was a blur as Miho dragged her friend up stairs and down the third floor of Seishun Academy. Behind them, Fuji and Eiji gave each other a look before following suit, Eiji making good use of his acrobatics (although how he did it with his schoolbag and tennis bag, Fuji would never know) as he went. "See you later!" Miho called out to Asa as class 3-2 came into view and she shot into the classroom in a whirlwind of activity. Asa slowed down and smiled before opting to walk the rest of the way to her class, only two doors down, only to have Fuji and Eiji shoot past her on either side.

"Good morning!" both boys said brightly when they slid open the door, looking as if they had _not_ just sprinted the whole way from the main entrance to their classroom. _The wonders of training on the Seigaku tennis team,_ she thought as she followed more slowly. The final bell to signal the start of classes rang as she draped her coat over the back of her chair, putting her schoolbag on her desk and sitting down in her seat. The teacher walked in as the bell stopped ringing, and the class stood up. "Good morning, sensei," they chorused obediently, and then sat down.

The teacher leaned over his podium for a desk and smiled at his assembled class of students. "Good morning, everyone," he said lightly. "We'll begin with English. Please take out your textbooks and turn to page 73. Fuji Syusuke-kun, please begin with the reading." There was a collective rustling of pages as everyone flipped to the proposed page, and then Fuji stood and began to read in nearly flawless English. There was a collection of dreamy sighs from his fangirls, and Eiji grinned back at Asa, earning him a smile. Fuji finished his allotted section, and the teacher thanked him. "Kikumaru Eiji-kun, please read next."

He jumped up excitedly. "Hai!"

***

Fuji let out a sigh as he extracted his lunch from his schoolbag, opting to stay in the classroom and eat his lunch. Eiji moved his desk next to Fuji's and opened his own bento, exclaiming in delight at the happy little faces that had been drawn on his onigiri with leftover pieces of seaweed. "Nya, isn't it cute, Fujiko?" he asked him, holding up one of the smiling riceballs.

Fuji chuckled. "Ah, it is. It would be a shame to eat it."

Eiji looked at his riceball, sitting innocently in the palm of his hand. "But I'm hungry…" he whined. And it just looked _so_ delicious…

"Saa… I was joking, Eiji." Eiji huffed and then popped the whole thing into his mouth, much to Fuji's surprise. "Eiji, be careful! You might choke!" the genius said worriedly, watching the redhead's throat area closely in order to insure that it all went down in a smooth manner, and should it get stuck, Fuji would have to opportunity to practice his new Heimlich maneuver. Of course, that would be if it became a worst case scenario. He wasn't quite in the mood to actively torture anyone today.

A scraping sound behind him made the brown-haired tensai turn around. Asa was getting up, her Chemistry book in one hand and a handful of pens in another. "Aren't you going to eat, Aa-chan?" he asked curiously. Eiji looked up as well, his cheeks bulging from the riceball that filled his mouth and thus unable to say anything except: 'Guu mff grff!'

She shook her head. "Iie. I promised Miho-chan that I would meet her in the library so we could work on Chemistry. I'll buy something to eat later." Eiji swallowed his mass amount of rice and made a face, beginning his rant against Chemistry and all the cursed elements that they had to memorize. Fuji just smiled at his friend, patting him on the back once and trying to calm him down as she slipped out of the classroom. Personally, she, too, hated Chemistry. Sometimes it was just a tad too difficult to keep all of the formulas straight in her mind.

"I'm sorry I'm late," she said to Miho as she moved to the table in the library that the other girl was currently occupying.

Miho's head shot up from her open Chemistry textbook, and her brown eyes lit up. "Asa-chan!" she said brightly, getting a glare from one of the other students using the table next to them. "Oh, sorry," she sighed, dropping her voice down in volume. Asa chuckled lightly as she walked over, placing her book on the table and sitting down with a sigh of her own. "What's wrong?" Miho asked, flipping the page of her open book. "Is it about Chemistry, or is about something else?"

"Who knows?" Asa asked resignedly as she opened her book to the assigned page. She had completely given up on trying completing any of the assignment over break. Thankfully, Chemistry was last period today, and with help, she'd be done and ready to go by the time that class came.

Miho slammed one fist into the palm of her other hand. "I know! Is it about a boy?" A blank look ensued. Miho smacked herself lightly on the forehead with one hand. "I wasn't clear, was I?" she asked, before launching into an explanation. "You know, like unrequited love? You like the boy, but he doesn't like you, because he's stuck on some other girl. And to make things worse," she stood, both hands on the table and leaning forward to stare straight into her friend's puzzled blue eyes, "that girl isn't even half as good as you."

"You've been reading Romeo and Juliet, haven't you?" Although, really, she couldn't think of any instances where Shakespeare said that Rosaline was half as good as Juliet. "And besides, this is _not_ an issue of unrequited love," she retorted hotly, yet still managing to keep it in the acceptable range of noise for the library. She leaned back against the back of her chair, arms folded over her chest. Miho, on the other hand, looked positively thrilled.

"But it _is_ an issue with a boy, isn't it?" she hissed excitedly, sitting back down. Asa groaned; trust Miho to twist her words around and attack her with them. "Who is it? Eiji-kun?"

There ensued a mixed noise between a snort and a cough.

"Nii-san?"

Next, a tiny 'I don't even know your brother that well.'

"Tezuka-kun?"

Finally, there was a collapse off of her chair followed by a glare at Miho, who was currently trying to think of more likely candidates. There was a reason she wasn't mentioning Fuji's name. Make your prey nervous, and then they will plead for their life and tell you all the answers. That was Oshitari Miho's current game plan. A devilish smirk was on her face, and Asa shivered, beginning to feel mildly unnerved.

Back in the classroom, Fuji sneezed, causing Eiji to ask him if he was feeling alright.

There was another slam of Miho's fist against her palm. "I know!" she announced. "It's Oishi-kun!" This time Asa didn't even bother to pick herself up off the floor; she was doomed either way.

There was a moment of silence as Miho racked her brains, and Asa finally couldn't take it anymore. "Are you done yet? If so, couldn't we just work on our Chemistry?" One of Miho's fingers on her lips effectively shut her up. Blue eyes traced the contours of her face as Miho struggled to contain her glee, since there was a lack of other places to look at. _What a predicament,_ she thought with a sigh to herself.

"I've got it now!" she whispered dramatically. "It is definitely, Fuji Syusuke!" Miho had abandoned her original plan, seeing as Asa wasn't being responsive. Now she was going for a direct attack.

Asa's blue eyes widened, and Miho grinned like a satisfied cat. Except that grin quickly faded and was replaced with an irritated scowl when the other girl just repeated dumbly, "Fuji-kun...?" That was all. There was no blush, no excessive stuttering, just a puzzled look.

"You're hopeless!" Miho wailed, grabbing her friend's shoulders and shaking her, forgetting about the rule with noise in the library and was glared at by the student again. This time she didn't really care. "That was a complete failure..." she sighed under her breath.

Asa chuckled nervously, patting her friend on the shoulder. "It's alright, it's alright," she soothed, wanting to melt into a puddle of liquid and flow away. Her Chemistry paper on the table seemed to mock her, and Miho looked utterly dejected.

_Maybe I can see if the nurse will let me go home early today..._

***

Inui looked up in surprise to see Fuji and Eiji standing before him. A puzzled look crossed his face as he studied his two teammates, having to lower his head in order to see their faces. "Can I help you, Fuji, Eiji?" he asked, a bit on the tentative side since he was dealing with Fuji, tensai extraordinaire. Who knew if he was in a current sadistic mood? Inui's life was precious to him. If he died now by means of Fuji, he wouldn't be able to collect data. He wouldn't be able to play his data tennis.

He wouldn't be able to make new Inui Juices...!

He shuddered at the thought of it. Not being able to make new Inui Juices would be like a nightmare come true. And frankly, he did not want that to happen. Making new Inui Juices was his favorite hobby, after all, next to collecting data on other people.

"So," he said briskly, pushing his glasses to a firmer position on the bridge of his nose. The glass gleamed for a moment before he took his finger off of the nosepiece, opening his notebook and picking up his pen to poise it over a new, blank page. "What can I help you with?" There was still a hint of wariness in his voice as he regarded Eiji and Fuji.

That was when he noticed that Fuji didn't quite look like his usual self. Though his head was bent, Inui could tell that his eyes were open (some inner instinct, perhaps?). Fuji's hands were folded together behind his back, and overall, he conveyed a sense of a disconcerted young boy. And when asked to describe Fuji Syusuke, one does _not_ use disconcerted.

Never.

"Uh... I thought..." Now Inui was puzzled. Was Fuji _stammering_? He was so startled by this new thing that he nearly forgot to write it down. Two seconds later, though, his brain remembered and he hurried to scribble it down onto the page. "What do you do if you like someone but you're afraid they won't take you seriously when you tell them?"

The sudden abruptness of his question stunned Seigaku's master of data. Had he heard correctly? So stunned was he that this time he totally forgot about recording it into his notebook. And this time, his brain didn't kick in and tell him to do it. All of his normal functions seemed to have malfunctioned upon hearing Fuji's question.

"Are... you serious?" he asked, just to make sure.

Fuji didn't answer except to nod his head, and Inui's jaw dropped. A moment that seemed like eternity passed before he regained his composure and shut his mouth, pushing his glasses up yet again, seeing as they had fallen slightly down his nose. "Do you want an honest answer, or a more calculated one?" he asked seriously, notebook so forgotten that he had shut it and held it now casually at his side. Eiji's eyes were wide open in mute shock at this. Inui not taking notes? This was as rare as Fuji stammering.

Slapping his hands over his mouth, Eiji muffled his laughs and turned momentarily away from the two boys. Only his shaking shoulders signified his attempts to subdue his laughter. In a moment, he straightened up and spun around again, bright smile plastered on his face. Neither Inui nor Fuji noticed Eiji's bout of laughter control, Inui's glasses covered eyes were focused solely on Fuji, while Fuji's eyes suddenly noticed something particularly wonderful about the ground he was standing on.

"I'd like an honest answer, please, Inui." Fuji's voice was tiny, so different from his usual cheery voice.

Inui cleared his throat, thinking hard about how he should answer the prodigy. "I'd tell them anyway," he said finally. "And if they don't take you seriously when you tell them the first time, I'm sure that you being you would have a way of making them see that you were serious." Fuji lifted his head and Inui was slightly taken aback when he saw those brilliant blue orbs not shining with the usual malicious intent that they showed whenever their owner wished to reveal them. Inui watched quietly as Fuji's mouth stretched into a smile.

"Ah... thank you, Inui," he said finally, then walked past him. Eiji looked from Inui to Fuji and then back to Inui before offering him a cheeky grin, pointing at the notebook that was being held uselessly in his hands.

"You forgot to take notes," he said brightly before taking off down the hall. Inui was puzzled for a moment before realizing what he said.

"Kikumaru! Why didn't you tell me this before?" he nearly screeched down the hall as he hurriedly flipped to the page and started scribbling like a madman.

***

Miho had taken it upon herself to escort Asa back to her house after school that day, even though she knew that Fuji was perfectly capable of doing it on his own. But he didn't complain either way, since possibly deep down inside he felt a bit guilty that he was taking up so much of her time. Yumiko always said that girls needed girls for friends in order to get certain points across.

A figure in a tidy looking brown school uniform was leaning against the gates of Seigaku, a bored look on his face as the trio drew closer. Miho waved cheerfully, calling out a greeting. "Hi, nii-san!" she said brightly, hurrying up to him. Oshitari gave a faint nod but otherwise remained silent. Fuji raised an eyebrow. Hyotei was placed a good distance away from Seigaku, and even though his sister attended Seigaku, Oshitari didn't strike one as the kind of person to purposely go out of his way in order to walk his sister home.

"Hello, Fuji," he said coolly, pushing off of his section of wall to look at the rival tensai.

Fuji gave a curt nod, his usual smile in place on his face. "How are you today?" he asked politely.

"Quite fine, thank you."

They continued to trade simple one sentence statements as the four started walking. Asa and Miho alternated looking at each boy as they exchanged their words. "Ah... this is my house," Asa offered, pausing at the gate to point down the walkway to her front door. "Thanks for walking me back, Fuji-kun, Oshitari-kun, Miho-chan." She gave all three of them a bright smile, and suddenly she took a step back in surprise as both Oshitari and Fuji stepped forward. She was pressed against the wall with one of their arms on either side of her head, Miho standing behind them with a look of utter confusion on her face. Both boys leaned forward so that they could speak in her ear.

"I like you." Miho's jaw dropped in shock behind the boys and Asa could only stare straight forward. Her? They were joking, weren't they?

There was a light brush of their hair against her face as they moved back, and Fuji offered his usual smile before turning to walk to his house. Oshitari gave her a small smile as well before turning to walk the opposite way. Miho's head turned from side to side as she looked after her brother and Fuji before she took one of Asa's hands in her own.

"I apologize for my idiot of a brother," she sighed, giving her hand a shake while her head shook from side to side as well. It seemed like her neck was replaced with a bobble head currently.

Asa cracked a smile. "That would make him a hypocrite, wouldn't it?"

Miho grinned and gave a vague wave of her hand. "Yeah, something like that," she mumbled. She let go of her hands and started to walk to her own home. "Well, I'll see you at school tomorrow!" she said brightly, giving her friend a smile. "And don't worry; I'll get to the bottom of this whole love thing! Just leave it to me! I won't let you down!" So saying, she ran down the street, calling out for her brother to wait for her.

Asa just stared after her friend. "When did I ask for help?" she asked quietly as she started trudging up the walkway to her house. "Tadaima!" she called out; it resonated throughout the silent house, and only Seika came up to greet her. The cat twined around her ankles as she toed off her shoes and slipped her feet into the house slippers. "Hello, Seika!" She knelt down on the hardwood floor and picked up her fluffy pet. The cat responded with a happy purr, her tail twitching.

_I like you._

She blinked, startled as her mind brought up the three simple words. "Baka," she sighed. Seika's ears flicked as she looked at her owner curiously when she was set back down on the floor. "I have so much homework tonight," Asa complained to her cat as she headed to the kitchen, setting her schoolbag down on the kitchen table. Seika rubbed against her legs as she pulled out her English homework. She had to write an essay with the theme "enjoyment." Inwardly, she groaned. This was going to put her minimum amount of knowledge of the English language to a huge test.

"Right, I'll work on this right now," she said fiercely under her breath as she pulled out her dictionary and grabbed a pencil. Hopefully, if she exhausted her brain with English words, she could forget all about Fuji and Oshitari.

"Life is so confusing sometimes, ne, Seika?" she asked the cat. A mewing sound was her only answer.

* * *

A/N: So... that whole Oshitari and Fuji thing was going around in my head for a whole week now, so I decided to throw it in. I'll probably refine the idea later, right now it's kind of sudden and just... there... So, yeah. ^^

End of my ramble thing. Please review! =)


	13. Chapter 12

**_Chapter 12_**

The Oshitaris were rich. It was a fact of life. It was something that could never ever be denied by anyone and everyone with a brain.

Miho paused at the wrought iron gate of an elaborately large mansion. While by far, the richest family in Tokyo was the Atobes, the Oshitari residence was still a force to be reckoned with. The huge house practically screamed 'be awed by my vastness!'

And awed she was, even though she lived in that house.

She sighed, shaking her head, placing one hand on the gate and leaning her weight against it. She had taken a slight detour, so her brother had gotten home long before her. And it was getting dark out; night was falling and if she didn't get inside the house soon, the rest of the family would worry.

From one of the pockets of her schoolbag, her cell phone lit up, and she plunged a cold hand into it absentmindedly, flipping open the communication device's cover with her thumb, not even looking at who sent the text message. Although her blood ran cold as soon as her eyes found the words of the text message.

_Miho, how are you doing?_ Innocent words, they were, but they filled her with dread that she could not fully understand. Hurriedly, she flipped the cell phone closed, shoving it back into her schoolbag and jamming her finger into the doorbell like contraption on the side of the gate. There was a moment of silence, and then a cackling sound came over it. When it toned down a bit a maid's voice could be heard.

"Hello? This is the Oshitari residence. May I help you?"

Miho gave a sigh. "Open the gate, please," she spoke into the speaker.

The maid gasped. "Miho-san! Did you forget your keys again?" But the maid opened the gate nonetheless, the huge wrought iron figures swinging slowly backwards so that the girl could slip through and head up the drive to the front door. Said maid greeted her at the door of the house, bowing as Miho stepped into the large front hallway. "Welcome back, Miho-san," she said, straightening up and taking her schoolbag. "I'll put your bag in your room," she said with a smile as she began to lead Miho to the dining room. "Everyone else is already seated for dinner. You're just in time."

Miho nodded, thanking the maid as she handed her coat over as well. "I'm sorry I'm late," she murmured as she stepped into the dining room. The rest of the family was already seated, as the maid said. Oshitari glanced up from his plate and gave her a look.

"Where were you?" her father asked, frowning at her.

Miho fidgeted slightly from where she stood at the doorway. "I was thinking… outside the gate…" she offered. It was a weak retort, and she knew it. Oshitari knew it too, from the slight tilt of his head and the disbelieving look in his eyes. He was not wearing his glasses; they were on his bedside table, but only on request from his mother.

"Is that so?" her father asked, giving a nod. Whether he believed her or not, Miho would never know. "Very well; you may sit down, Miho." He nodded to her seat and she bowed to him before hurrying to her place at the table. As soon as dinner was over, she excused herself, shooting out of the dining room with a hurriedly mumbled excuse.

Their mother gave Oshitari a glance. "Yuushi, why don't you go see what's troubling your sister tonight?" she asked, standing up. A small smile was on her face. Oshitari sighed, but stood as well.

"Hai, okaa-san," he said, giving a bow to his parents and leaving the room. When he reached Miho's door, he knocked on the hard wood, listening with a faint smirk at the scrambling noises from within.

"Come in!" Miho called, and he opened the door, stepping into the room.

"Miho…what are you doing?" he asked. His eyes had widened in surprise as he took in the mess Miho had made. "Honestly, Miho," he sighed, giving a shake of his head. "You're not a child anymore. Surely you shouldn't be making such messes in your room anymore?"

Miho ignored her brother and continued to paw through her scattered b belongings. Despite his best efforts, Oshitari's foot started to tap against the floor. It came to the point that he was about to head over to her and forcibly yank her so that she would face him, but he didn't have to that, seeing as Miho turned to face him. "Alright, I want some answers!" she demanded, poking him in the chest to accentuate his point.

He twitched, taking a step back automatically. "Answers to what?" he asked, frowning.

"What you and Fuji-sama were saying to Asa-chan, of course!" she retorted, poking him once more in the chest. "Do you really like her or not?"

He smirked, turning his head to the side and crossing his arms over his chest. "Ah… I was wondering when you would ask such a question," he said. The smirk on his face grew wider. "I was wondering what it would be like to vex Seigaku's famous tensai. It will certainly prove to be amusing." He leaned against her wall, that smirk ever present on his face.

Miho frowned slightly, and then a tiny smile graced her face. "Just be careful, Nii-san," she said. He tilted his head to the side and gave her a quizzical look. "People who do something that involves love often find themselves doing what they never thought they would do." She had adopted a very serious look on her face as she lectured him. "Be very careful with your heart; you might find it stolen one day."

He was thoroughly puzzled by now, but Miho never gave him the chance to voice out his questions. She had grabbed his shoulders and was now shoving him out of her room. "Now, out you go!" she scolded. "Do something productive, like homework!" And then the door was slammed in his face, leaving one confused Oshitari Yuushi standing in the hall.

On the other side of the door, Miho slid down onto the ground, her back against the smooth wood, and drew her knees up to her chest. On her desk, her cell phone let out a happy little 'bleep' to tell her that a text message had been received. She just closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against her knees, wrapping her arms tightly around her legs. Let it bleep; she wasn't going to answer it.

Not now, not ever.

***

"Asa-chan!"

Asa turned around when her name was called to see Miho running towards her, waving as she did. A bright smile crossed her face, and she waved back. "Good morning, Miho-chan!" she called as Miho closed the distance between the two of them. Asa was standing in the schoolyard, waiting for her friends to come out of the building so that they could get going. Leave it to the drama teachers to give the stage crew props to paint. Asa was currently wondering how she was going to lug a huge diagram of a tree all the way to her house in order to paint it. Said tree was currently leaning against the walls that surrounded the school. It looked innocent enough, although she swore it was mocking her, laughing at the thought of her dragging it through the streets of Tokyo.

"Sorry I came a little late!" Miho huffed, leaning over to catch her breath. "Ne, Asa-chan," she added hurriedly, "I found out!" She glanced curiously at the prop. "Nice tree," she commented, smirking.

"Found out what?" Asa asked curiously, frowning at her friend. It was actually quite a nice tree, the best out of the ones available for painting.

Miho gave her an exasperated look. "I found out about why Nii-san said he liked you!"

"Oh…" Truth be told, she really didn't want to know why he said it, since Oshitari wasn't the kind of boy to randomly say things to act silly; that bit of logic crushed her last hope. "Well? What is it?" Why not find out? Miho had gone through the pains of figuring it out for her, so the least she could do was listen to it.

Except Miho never got to tell her, since Fuji and Eiji came up. The genius had that oh-so-familiar smile on his face, leaning back slightly to catch what Eiji was saying. For once, Eiji wasn't blasting out his tidbits of information for the whole schoolyard to hear. "Fuji-sama!" Miho said excitedly. Her hands clasped and unclasped with each other in front of her chest as the two girls waited for the boys to reach them.

"You got a tree?" Fuji asked, giving the prop a glance.

Asa sighed, planting her hands on her hips. If one more person commented on her tree, she swore by Kami-sama that she would…

"Ah… are you in charge of painting trees for a school play?"

"It is a perfectly fine tree!" she cried out, closing her eyes and lowering her head in defeat. Why, oh why, did Kami-sama choose to do this to her? Why did she take a tree to paint in the first place if it was going to drive her insane?

"I never said it was not a fine tree, Ijuuin-chan."

Her eyes shot open, and besides her, Miho uttered out, "Nii-san!" Fuji's expression had turned into a small frown, and Eiji was just looking on in curiosity. "Oshitari-kun, why are you at Seigaku?" he asked innocently, to which Fuji could not help but smile. Leave it to Eiji to manage to cheer him up, whether knowingly or unknowingly.

Oshitari gave a vague wave of his hand, ignoring the murmurs of the Seigaku students in the schoolyard. "Just picking up my sister," he drawled out, looking perfectly at home in a sea of green and black even with his brown attire. Miho stifled a sigh at her brother.

"I'll help you take your tree back to your house," Fuji offered, turning away from Oshitari. Asa gaze shifted from him to the tree and then back to the boy.

"With all of that as well?" she asked, gesturing to his schoolbag and his tennis bag. Even for a genius, wouldn't it be a bit difficult to add a huge tree to the pile?

Fuji chuckled lightly, an overly bright smile on his face, a dangerous combination that sent shivers up and down Eiji's spine. "Oh, there are ways," he fairly purred. Behind him, Eiji gulped. Both girls just blinked in confusion while Oshitari looked on with a faint hint of amusement on his face. He could tell that the other genius was angry at his presence. Never in his right mind had he imagined vexing Fuji Syusuke to be so much… fun.

In the end, it turned out that poor Eiji had right to feel terrified. When Fuji had initially suggested to Eiji that the other boy carry his bags so that he could get the tree, Eiji had protested (seeing as he, too, held a tennis bag and a schoolbag and did not look forward to the added weight). Fuji, kindly, had then offered that he ask Inui to make up a special concoction in order to build up Eiji's strength. The three onlookers had watched in stunned silence as Eiji's face turned paler than paper and he practically peeled both bags off of the sadist. Said sadist had a brilliant smile on his face. _Mission accomplished,_ he thought as he picked up the prop. Now, if only other things could be solved by the same simple methods... "Ah… it is a bulky thing," he mused as he shifted it around as the five of them left the school grounds.

Eiji simply huffed from his place behind him, carrying both extra bags with a sullen expression on his normally cheerful face. Miho tried to cheer him up, but he made it clear that he would not be happy until he did not have to carry the extra baggage.

"I know!" Miho said brightly, clapping her hands together. "After Fuji-sama drops off the prop, how about we go check out a new store?" Eiji was about to protest again, but Miho silenced him with a wave of her hand. "It's a cake shop," she teased, a glint in her eyes.

"Really? Let's go, then! Hurry, hurry, Fujiko-chan!"

"Miho-chan, you did that on purpose, didn't you? Bribing him with the cake shop…"

Miho flashed a triumphant smile. "Victory is mine!" she said happily. Somewhere in her schoolbag, buried underneath all of her papers, her cell phone lit up as it received another text message.

***

Oshitari did not like going on shopping expeditions. Neither did Fuji. It didn't matter which shop it was (although both of them seemed fine with trips to the bookstore… for a limited amount of time…). In fact, both boys had tried to get out of it, but Eiji dragged along Fuji anyway and Miho took charge of Oshitari. So they had no choice but to go along on this shopping trip.

"Saa… it can't be that bad, can it?" Asa asked as they entered the cake shop. Eiji was instantly at the display cases, marveling over the desserts. The whole shop had a deliciously sweet smell to it, and Miho was instantly taking Asa on a tour of the small shop before she could hear the answer. The two tensais were left to stand in front of the doorway, each debating whether or not they should just leave or actually browse through the wide selection of sweets.

"Oshitari-chan looks very energetic today," Fuji finally offered after five minutes of an awkward silence. When he received no answer, the brown-haired boy turned to face the other. He was surprised to see the hard frown on his face, tinged with a bit of worry, opening his eyes to make sure that he wasn't seeing things. "Oshitari-kun…? Is something wrong?"

Oshitari gave a faint shake of his head. "It's nothing," he muttered, although his gaze turned once again to face his sister. She only acted like this when she was upset over something…

"Ne, Fuji-kun, Oshitari-kun." Both boys turned their attention back to the present when their names were called. Asa was standing in front of them with a box of paid delicacies. "Would you like to share?" she asked, holding out the box.

Fuji closed his eyes into their usual smiling position and gave a gentle bob of his head. "That'd be nice, thank you." She smiled at him and Oshitari when he voiced his consent, and Miho and Eiji waved them over to their table.

"Mmm… this one is nice," Eiji said happily. He had settled with a slice of chocolate cake, wearing the very expression of bliss as he munched on his treat. "Nya, what'd you get, Fujiko?" He looked curiously over to his friend.

"Hmm… I really don't know," Fuji answered truthfully. The box had been passed to Oshitari first, so he was waiting for the other boy to select something before he chose one for himself. Miho was chattering cheerfully to Asa, the other girl listening patiently to her ramblings, until she stopped her when she paused to take a breath.

"Is something bothering you, Miho-chan?" Fuji perked up; that same edge of worry was present on Asa's face as it had been on Oshitari's. The box was passed to him and he took a piece absentmindedly, setting it down on his dish and placing the box off to the side.

Miho looked surprised at Asa's sudden statement. "No… why do you ask?" she asked curiously.

Asa frowned, poking gently at her uneaten slice of cake with her fork. "I don't know… maybe because you were repeating the same story three times in a row?" she offered. Her frown deepened slightly as she set down her fork. "Honestly, though," she started, "if something is bothering you, please say it. Friends are here to listen to their friends' problems, ne?" She glanced at Eiji, Oshitari, and Fuji for conformation, and she got nods in response. "So… it's be nice if you could tell us if something is bothering you…" She trailed off with an almost nervous look on her face.

Miho sighed. "Am I that readable?" she asked softly. She tried to look like it was nothing, but now that her companions took a good look at her, it was easily noted that it was taking its toll on her, whatever it was. "Where to begin…?" Miho mused, leaning forward so that her elbows were on the table and she could lean her chin on her folded hands. She frowned as she thought, then sighed. "Beating around the bush isn't going to help me much, is it?"

"No, it isn't," Oshitari said sternly.

Miho's head bowed as the girl fiddled with the edge of the tablecloth. "The truth is… I'm not truly a part of this family," she said in a small voice. Oshitari's frown deepened, while the others looked surprised. "I don't really know the details and all; I just know I've been sent along with all these families to live with. It's like fostering; I've never stayed in one place for long. I count this current one a particular success, as I've been staying with the Oshitaris for three years." She fished out her cell phone from her bag; it was bleeping again as she flipped the cover open. "Good things always come to an end, don't they?" she asked softly. Her hand was shaking on the small device as she stared at the screen.

Fuji glanced at Asa with a worried expression on his face. It was not like their lively friend to be this down by anything. Asa reached out and plucked the phone from her hand. Miho glanced at her before going back to staring at her lap. "'Miho, how are you doing? I trust that you're enjoying your stay at your newest place of residence,'" she read. "'The transactions are complete. We would love it if you came back to live with use started next week…'" She trailed off. "Next week?! That really doesn't give you too much time." She flipped the phone shut.

Fuji set down his fork. "And do you want to go… Oshitari-chan?" he asked softly.

"Of course not!" Miho said hurriedly, and then withdrew a bit, looking flustered, as she must have sounded rude. "I'm sorry," she sighed, "It's just that I really don't want to go back. It leaves a bad impression when your real parents let you go from house to house," she mumbled, giving her phone a reproachful look from where it was in Asa's hands.

"In that case, couldn't you just say that you don't want to go?" Eiji asked, wiping his mouth with a napkin and looking very serious. "If they're your real parents, I'm sure they'll understand and want you to be happy." Fuji nodded at this statement.

"Either way," Oshitari spoke, and they turned to him. He pushed his glasses up, the glass gleaming as he did so. "Either way, I highly doubt that Mother and Father would let Miho go anyway; they love Miho just like Nee-san and I." He stood and extended his hand to his sister. "Come, let's go," he said softly. "It's getting late."

"But we don't have school tomorrow. It's Sunday," Miho protested, but took his hand anyway. "Ne, thanks for listening to my stupid problems," she said to the rest.

Eiji gave a simple shake of his head. "There are no such things as stupid problems," he said happily. Both Oshitaris nodded their thanks and left the shop. Eiji turned to face Fuji with a frown on his face. "But… honestly," he huffed. "Who in their right mind lets their kid go around like that?"

"There must be a reason," Fuji placated his friend before his gaze was drawn to Asa's hand. "You still have Miho's cell phone?" he asked playfully.

She leapt up. "Oh! I totally forgot!" she cried out before slapping a hand over her mouth. She had been too loud; other customers were staring at her now. "Uh… it's nothing. I'm terribly sorry!" she squeaked before sitting down again.

Fuji offered her a gentle smile. "It's alright. We can just return it to her tomorrow… oh, wait, tomorrow is Sunday. Monday will have to do." He began gathering up his stuff, standing up. "Saa… let's get going," he offered. "Oshitari-kun was right; it _is _getting late."

"But tomorrow is Sunday," Eiji whined, although he got up anyway. The three of them left the shop and started walking back to their homes, Eiji chattering on about how he wanted spring to come quickly. Then, somehow, he managed to turn the conversations towards birthdays. "It's a pity we won't be able to celebrate Fujiko's birthday this year," Eiji sighed. "And this year is our last at Seigaku… what a pity, nya… oh, here's my house." He gave a cheerful wave to his friends as he bounded up the walk. At his front door, he turned and waved again. "See you on Monday!" he called out before the front door opened and he toppled into his house, as he had been leaning on said door. Fuji chuckled and the two of them waved back as Eiji picked himself up off the floor, complaining loudly to his sister for the undignified entrance yet still managing to wave some more.

"Ah… Eiji's arm will fly off if he waves anymore," Fuji said with a contented smile on his face. The girl besides him was quiet and he turned to look at her curiously. Dusk made it difficult to fully see her face, and for once he wished that the longer days would hurry up and come, granting more sunlight.

"February 29th," she muttered, and he blinked in confusion. "This year isn't a leap year…"

"Aa-chan, are you talking to yourself?"

"Eh…" she fumbled around with her words for a while before giving a sheepish nod. "Hai… I do that sometimes." She gave him a small smile before glancing up at the dark sky. "But really," she mused, "how do you normally celebrate your birthday? Do you do it on the 28th or do you wait for the first of March?"

Fuji had to pause and think about it. Normally, he didn't care much for his birthday, possibly because for the most part that day didn't even come. "Nee-san and kaa-san usually do something on March first," he said softly. "Why?" He stopped at the gate to his house, debating to himself whether he should continue on and walk her home or not.

Asa chuckled lightly. "Nothing," she said sweetly. "I was curious, that's all." She offered him a small bow. "Thank you for helping me get that prop back to my house earlier this afternoon. I'll see you on Monday." When he seemed to hesitate at his gate, she made a small shooing gesture at him. "It's cold out. You'll get sick if you stay out for too long."

"I guess…" She gave a tiny wave and hurried along down the street towards her own house, leaving Fuji to stand there at his gate, wondering why she seemed to have such an interest in his birthday. His musings were cut off when Yumiko opened the front door, calling his name.

"You'll get sick if you stay outside for too long," Yumiko chided as he stepped inside and toed off his shoes. The eldest Fuji sibling suddenly frowned and bent slightly in order to better see her brother's face. "Your cheeks are flushed… you might have caught a fever," she sighed. "Honestly, Syusuke, must you stay outside for so long by yourself?"

"But I wasn't by myself," Fuji interjected, a faintly bemused expression on his face. Yumiko's face lit up and he suddenly realized it was the wrong phrase to say.

"You mean you have a girlfriend now?" she cooed. Fuji tried to move past her to get to his room but his sister cut off all of his possible escape routes. "Who is it?" There was a strange glint in her eyes, but he shrugged it off as simply the way the light reflected on it.

"I was just walking back with Eiji," Fuji lied, fervently hoping that his sister wouldn't detect it and hound him some more. "And we were discussing the play that we had to do." There was a tiny grain of truth in his words. Asa and he _did_ discuss the prop, if for only a minute or two.

Yumiko visibly deflated. "Oh… is that so," she sighed. But then she straightened up. "No problems then!" she said brightly. "I'll make sure to bring the camera so that I can take lots of pictures when your class puts on the play. Work hard, then, ne, Syusuke?" He nodded mutely, and she hugged him tightly before she was called into the kitchen by their mother. Fuji let himself into his room, pausing at Yuuta's door before telling himself that Yuuta was back at the St. Rudolph dorms. His sister seemed really excited that night. He wondered why.

"Nee-san," he called, popping up in the kitchen. Yumiko and Yoshiko both looked up from their cups of tea. "Do you have a new boyfriend?"

Yumiko cocked her head to one side. "No. Why do you ask?" Fuji just rocked backwards onto his heel as he thought. His mother was the one who smiled and spoke next.

"Yumiko and I are undergoing a little 'project'," she offered. This time, there was no mistaking the glint in Yumiko's eyes. "Time is of the essence. After all, we only have about a month to do this."

"Do what?"

Yumiko winked at him, wagging a finger in a playful, teasing manner. "S-e-c-r-e-t!" she said, although then she nodded to the calendar. "Perhaps if you see the date, you'll know." Fuji obeyed, turning his gaze to the calendar.

Said date happened to be February 14; St. Valentine's Day.

* * *

A/N: A total and complete failure... (T.T) My attempt to move the calendar forward so there won't be like... a thousand chapters to this thing (probably failed in that area...). I'm sorry if everything seems to be a bit rough in this one. I suppose it could act as one of those filler things.

But, it was kind of fun making Miho lecture Oshitari. Poor genius doesn't know what's in for him... *heh* It's his own fault for having so much pride. But we love him anyway. *glomps*

And the tree is there in a vague attempt to bring back the whole play thing. I've been neglecting it lately. Poor neglected plot bunny...

I think I'll shut up now and let you guys decide whether or not this chapter fails. Reviews are life. =)


	14. Chapter 13

**_Chapter 13_**

Fuji was pacing the length of his room with intensity to rival a tiger. How many times had he paced from his window to his doorway? It was too many times to count. Friday the 13th… such an unlucky day…

He was in no way superstitious, but he just had a bad feeling about today. Especially while at school. He couldn't explain himself. When Yumiko had confronted him within an hour of his returning home, he had tried to find words to describe his current unease. By Kami-sama, he had tried.

He had failed, too. How does one describe something that they've never experienced before? It was next to impossible.

"Syusuke, please stop pacing." He paused in mid-step to look up. Yumiko was at his doorway, a tray laden with a plate of cookies and two cups of tea balanced in her hands. "You're making me dizzy and all I'm doing is standing here." Fuji gave her an apologetic look as she stepped into his room, setting the tray on his desk and motioning him to help himself. He did, taking a cookie and biting into the sweet treat. Yumiko sat down on the edge of his bed, taking a cup of tea. "Are you thinking about how you are going to survive receiving all those chocolates tomorrow?" she asked, taking a sip from her cup. Fuji never showed it, but she could tell that it sometimes irked him to receive so many chocolates. "Or are you perhaps thinking about receiving chocolate from a certain someone?"

Fuji collapsed on his bed with a sigh, protesting "Nee-san!" Yumiko smiled gently, reaching out to ruffle her brother's wispy hair. He leaned into the hand despite himself. Trust Yumiko to make him feel like a little kid again. Of course, it wasn't such a bad feeling…

"Well?" Yumiko prompted, taking her hand away, putting the cup on the tray before leaning back herself onto Fuji's bed. "Which one is it?"

Fuji stared up at his ceiling, his eyes tracing a pattern on it. "I guess… a little bit of both," he finally admitted, before chuckling. "Ah… but really," he sighed. "She thinks I'm joking or kidding around." He tucked his hands underneath his head and opened his eyes. "She doesn't think I'm being serious with her. I really don't know what to do with her…" he trailed off with a slightly lost look on his face.

"And now you want chocolate from her," Yumiko teased. Fuji was silent before he gave a tiny nod. Since this was Yumiko, he really didn't see the point in making up some story. She had a way of getting information out of him, anyways. "I can do a reading for you," she offered, pushing herself up into a sitting position. "Would you like that, Syusuke?"

His blue eyes closed into a smile as he shook his head. "Thank you for the offer, nee-san," he said softly, "but I want to do this without knowing the results beforehand."

"Oh? Is that so?" Yumiko asked. She stood and headed for the door. "Go to sleep soon, Syusuke. Make sure you're refreshed for tomorrow." She smiled at him before she shut the door with a quiet click. Fuji rolled over so that he lay on his stomach, leaning his chin on his crossed arms.

"Valentine's Day, eh?" he murmured softly. Honestly, sometimes he felt that life was better without that one day.

***

Kurumi was impatiently leaning against the closed bathroom door. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest, her foot was tapping against the floor, and a sour look had graced her face. "Asa-onee-chan!" she cried, reaching the limit to her patience. "I've never heard of showers that take an hour! Especially from you!" To accentuate her point, she banged once, twice, thrice, on the bathroom door.

"That's because bathes take longer than showers," came a voice from the other side of the door.

At this point Kurumi was utterly furious. "B-bath?" she stuttered. In a thoroughly bad mood, she stormed off. "Take your time then! I'll just go shower in Okaa-san and Otou-san's bathroom!"

In the bath, Asa smiled faintly as she listened to the faint sounds of Kurumi's receding footsteps. Her sister was too cute for her own good sometimes. "Speaking of sisters… where's Narumi?" she wondered along, one hand coming out of the warm water so that she could tap her finger against her chin. "Oh! Okaa-san was taking her to see a comedy since Kurumi didn't want do go see it.

She heaved a sigh as she slid lower into the water so that only her head showed out of the water. Valentine's Day was tomorrow, and she didn't even have chocolate for one person prepared. _Wait a second… one person?_ She frowned, sinking even lower into the water so only her eyes were visible. That wouldn't do.

An idea suddenly hit her and she sat up. The water cascaded off of her bare shoulders as she did so, some of it splashing out of the tub in the process. A bright smile was on her face. "I got it!" she said with a clap of her hands. "I'll make chocolates for everyone! That way it can be on more general terms!"

_There is only one problem,_ she thought, sinking once again into the water so that only her head showed. _How am I supposed to make it original for everyone?_ Heart shaped chocolates were definitely out of the question.

"What do I do? What do I do?" she muttered to herself. The hot water that she had filled the tub with was getting cold, so she decided to get out of the water. When she was dried and dressed, she stepped into the kitchen and started digging through the cabinet. "Wonderful!" she said happily, pulling out molds and a cookbook. "Now… let's see how we do this…"

Unbeknownst to her, her parents were peeking from around the corner of the doorway into the kitchen. Her mother turned to her father. "Ne, anata," she murmured to her husband. The man tipped his head to the side with a questioning look in his eyes. "Do you think she finally got a boyfriend? Girls only give chocolate to the boys they like, although I haven't given one in years."

He glared at her. "I would sincerely hope not," he retorted, looking indignant.

She ignored her and gave a light sigh. "Although, honestly, I should be making chocolate today as well," she said happily. He twitched, looking disbelieving. She chuckled, placing a hand on his arm. "Just kidding. Saa… let's leave Asa to her chocolate making and do something else," she soothed. "It's getting late and I have to get to the company early tomorrow morning, after all."

"Oh, I see how it is," he huffed, but allowed himself to be dragged upstairs, although he couldn't help but chance another look into the kitchen, smiling slightly to himself at Asa trying to make chocolate.

_Do your best, Aa-chan,_ he thought with a bright smile.

***

"I've done it!" Miho said proudly. She held up a wrapped package and had an extremely bright grin on her face. "After ten tries, I have completed the perfect chocolate!"

"Why ten times…?" Asa asked, her expression an odd mixture of embarrassment and nervousness. _Miho-chan is so loud and enthusiastic… sometimes I wish I was more like her._ Her own chocolate had taken around five times to complete, mainly because she burned it many times while melting it to try and get it into the molds.

"Because there were flaws in it in all the other times," Miho said matter-of-factly. "Fuji-sama needs the best chocolate on Valentine's Day, after all."

"Ah… is that so?" Asa glanced at the school gates curiously. _Speaking of Fuji-kun, he didn't come pick me up to walk to school today,_ she thought. It was strange, to say the least.

"What's wrong?" Miho asked curiously as she turned to face her friend. Asa shook her head; it was nothing, really. Perhaps Fuji just wanted to walk to school by himself that day. It was nothing too serious. "Ah! There's Inui-kun!" Miho said brightly. Sure enough, the girls could see the resident data man striding into out of the schoolyard with the intention of headed to the tennis courts. Why, they had no idea. The nets weren't up yet, and probably wouldn't be for another month.

"Miho-chan, gomen," Asa apologized to her friend. "I have chocolate to deliver," she explained to her friend's questioning gaze, showing her the contents of her extra bag. Little boxes tied in ribbons greeted brown eyes as Miho peeked in. "There's one for you, too," Asa said hastily, withdrawing a light green package tied with a white ribbon. "Here." She extended the offering to her with a tiny smile on her face.

"For me?" Miho asked, eyes shining. She took the box and then gave her friend a one armed hug. "Ah… Arigatou!" she cooed. "Now I feel so special! I bet Asa-chan's chocolates are delicious."

Asa chuckled nervously. "I hope so." Truth be told, it was her first time making chocolates herself. Normally she went out and bought premade ones. _There's a first for everything,_ she told herself, giving Miho a small wave and then hurrying off to chase after Inui in order to give him his package of chocolates.

"You're giving chocolates to all of your friends?" Inui asked, accepting the box with a nod of thanks. His notebook opened and he poised with his pen to begin jotting down notes.

"Hai," Asa said brightly, giving said notebook a curious glance but otherwise not mentioning it. "Just as a small thank you, you know, for putting up with me for the first half of the school year." Neither mentioned the fact that Fuji had a prominently large role in this, but if they were getting some sort of reward for it, it balanced out alright.

Didn't it?

"There is a 95% chance that Oishi is in the student council office with Tezuka," Inui stated, finishing the last of his note taking. "And because of today's date, there is a 65% chance that Eiji will be with Oishi to cheer on his partner every time he receives chocolates. You could hit three birds with one stone. Later." Asa waved at his retreating back before hurrying off to find the student council room. It was one of the math classrooms on the third floor, she knew.

True to Inui's word, she found Oishi and Tezuka in the classroom (somehow they had avoided the mass amount of fangirls storming the hallways looking for them to give chocolates) putting away papers. Eiji was just bouncing out when she came upon the doorway, so she took to opportunity to shove a small box of chocolates into his surprised hands. "Thanks for being my friend, Eiji-kun," she said with a bright smile. She said the same things to Oishi and Tezuka, offering a box to each boy as well. Oishi accepted his with a gentle smile on his face, thanking her. Tezuka probably just took his to be polite. But either way, she was grateful that they accepted her little gifts, murmuring out her thanks as she left the room to track down the others.

By the time the first bell had rung, she had managed to find Taka, Kaidoh, Momo, and Echizen to deliver their chocolates. Even though Momo, Kaidou, and Echizen were her kohais, she still felt that giving them a little something as a 'thank you' was required for dealing with her for the current school year. Although, how she got past Echizen's freshman fans, she would never know, but she _did _do it. He thanked her with a tip of his cap and an oh-so-Echizen 'Mada mada dane,' to which she simply nodded and headed off.

Stepping into the classroom, she scanned around the room for Fuji. She found him… surrounded by a group of girls who were all showering him with chocolates. Fuji accepted his gifts with a smile and a kind word of thanks. Nothing more than usual. _That's right,_ she reminded herself. _Fuji-kun is exceptionally popular. How could I forget?_

"Oi, Fuji!" A voice behind her made her jump as one of the boys in her class came into the room. Fuji turned to acknowledge the voice, a curious expression on his face. "How many chocolates did you get from your adoring fans this year?" The boy leaned against the doorframe with a smirk on his face. Fuji just replied with a shrug and a smile. The other sighed, shaking his head. "I wish I was as popular as you, man. It must be nice being showered by such affection every year."

_Every year?_ Asa eyes widened as she took this into account. Her own tiny box of chocolates, although solely intended for friendship purposes, sat in her bag and suddenly seemed like a huge weight that she was holding. _It's stupid to get so worked up over a simple chocolate, but I'd like to know that he'd at least look at mine and know that we're good friends._ She heaved a sigh herself. _Mine will probably never be noticed, not with his huge pile of chocolates that all the other girls poured all of their love into._ She moved forward to go to her seat, walking right past Fuji and not even giving him a "Good morning," or anything of the like. She didn't notice the slightly hurt look on his face as she sat down and stowed her bag under her desk. Her fingers drummed against the desk in an absentminded manner as she listened to the teacher drone on through lessons.

The end of the day came in a relief for her, even if Saturday was only a half day of school to begin with. She practically grabbed her bag and bolted out of the door, leaving a rather puzzled Eiji and a still smarting Fuji. "Aa-chan's in a hurry today, isn't she?" Eiji remarked pleasantly as he started to leave the classroom. He chanced a glance at his friend and noticed with a frown the distracted look on his face as the prodigy followed him. His quick mind formed a thesis, and he reveled in the prospect of teasing the boy later should it be true. Although, just to make sure…

"Maybe Aa-chan wants to give special chocolate to a special someone," he said brightly, although he knew perfectly well that she was planning on giving everyone on the regular spots little 'friendship' chocolates. What Fuji didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Eiji, on the other hand, just hoped that when Fuji _did _discover the truth, _he_ would remain unscathed.

Fuji's eyes flew open, and they pinned the redhead to the side of the door in their icy gaze. He shivered; Fuji was quite frightening when he wanted to be. But at least it seemed like his thinking was accurate. Now Eiji just hoped she had enough chocolate to placate Fuji's rising frustration. Hopefully sweets would make Fuji forget about his revenge tactics.

"Fuji-sama!" Miho's excited voice piped up on the other side of the open door. She held out a box of Valentine's chocolate when Fuji looked her way. "Happy Valentine's Day!" she said brightly, bowing as she extended the box a bit further. "Please accept my chocolate, Fuji-sama!"

Fuji closed his eyes and pasted on a sweet smile. "Chocolate from Oshiarri-chan?" he asked brightly, taking the box with a gracious air about him. He held the box loosely in his grip; it was easily the size of his hand, possibly a bit bigger. His chest tightened for the briefest of moments as he looked at the cheerful box. _What will hers look like; the one for that special someone?_ He found himself wondering this before berating himself. If she chose to give chocolate to someone else, there really was nothing he could do about it at that exact moment, now, was there? "Thank you very much, Oshitari-chan," he thanked her with a bow of his own.

Miho fairly beamed at him, then peered curiously into the classroom. "Where's Asa-chan?" she asked, frowning. "I said she could come over to my house today to work on that play. She was going to help me with my part." She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "And I worked so hard to convince her to do it, too… all she wanted to do was stay home and paint her tree. I can't believe she had to choose _this_ weekend to do it, not when she's had it for a month."

"Aa-chan left earlier," Eiji offered, since it didn't seem like Fuji was going to be giving any suggestion to said girl's current whereabouts. "But I'm sure you can catch her at the gates, nya! She doesn't go back on her promises. And besides, she's probably thinking of the best way to give her special someone chocolate." Fuji gave him a warning glance, but Miho's already bright expression brightened up even more.

"She never told me she made that kind of chocolate!" she very nearly squealed. Both boys were struck speechless. "Don't you know?" she asked, cocking her head to the side to look at both of them closely. "Didn't she tell you when she gave you your chocolates that they were because she liked being your friend and was grateful for it?" She turned her gaze to the ceiling. "Hmm… I wonder who the lucky person is. Asa-chan's chocolates were quite delicious." Ever the addict to sweets, she had popped one of the star shaped gifts into her mouth halfway through the day. Although there had been the tiniest burnt taste to it (she only found it because she had decided to really savor it, and it was forgivable because there was a small footnote on the card that came with the box), she felt that it was a good result on her friend's first try.

Eiji again spoke for the two of them. "She didn't give Fujiko's chocolate yet!" he piped up. By now, the threesome had begun to start walking out of the school and to the gates. Fuji felt the faintest stirrings of hope start before he crushed them. There was no use bringing himself up so high just so he could crash into a million pieces back on the ground later on. "Maybe it was because Fujiko's fans kept on coming up and giving him their chocolates during the day and Aa-chan didn't want to be associated with them," Eiji mused. Fuji was right to have squashed that tiny bit of hope.

"Ah! There's Nii-san!" Miho said, pointing. Sure enough, Oshitari was standing at the gates, talking to Asa. The girl was speaking quite animatedly, little hand gestures going with whatever story she was telling. And this seemed to amuse the other tensai, because his brown eyes were twinkling with bemusement. Three pairs of sharp eyes noticed the small box he held in his hand, probably not placed in his schoolbag for fear of flattening the fragile wrapping. "Nii-san gets chocolate, too, doesn't he?" Miho asked, a faint smile on her face. "I wonder how he's going to drag all of his chocolate home. I'm sure his fans gave him loads of it as well today." She called to the two people, and they turned to her, Oshitari offering a nod and Asa giving her a smile.

"You're still coming over, aren't you?" Miho asked as she stepped towards them. Asa gave a small nod, greeting Eiji and Fuji. Miho elbowed her friend gently in the ribs. "Ne, I heard you didn't give Fuji-sama his chocolate yet," she whispered slyly.

"Uh…" Asa's eyes searched Fuji's face. "I started doubting myself after seeing all of his fans." And then she found herself recounting all of her personal doubts into Miho's ears. The other girl listened intently, before whispering back.

"Where is it now?" she asked, meaning the chocolate. They turned their backs to the curious boys and Asa drew out the box. Its ribbon seemed to sag a tiny bit, almost as if it was sad to have not been given yet. Miho snatched the box from her hands and bounced over to Fuji. "Here!" she said, holding it out. Fuji raised an eyebrow at her; Asa shook her head in silent defeat. She should have known better. "This is Asa-chan's chocolate! She was worried that you'd overlook it after you got all the others, even if she's giving it to you because she likes you as a friend. Please accept it!" The small box fit perfectly in her cupped hands, the light blue ribbon now looking bright and cheery. "Onegaishimasu!" she pleaded when he didn't take the offering for a few seconds.

"Please thank Aa-chan for me later, will you, Oshitari-chan?" Fuji said pleasantly as he reached up and took the box, looking down at it where it sat peacefully in his hands. _Just a friend, hm?_ He was right; she really hadn't taken him too seriously.

_'I'm sure that you being you would find a way of making them see that you were serious.'_ Inui's voice crept unbidden into his mind, and his cheerful smile slipped, replaced by a bitter one before he hid himself behind his mask. _I wish I could,_ he thought, stowing the gift away gently into his bag. He should be happy. He had received the chocolate that he wanted, but…

Was he satisfied with just being a friend? He really wasn't. And he didn't want to do anything too rash when taking Inui's advice. He really didn't want to push her away. _This will be an agonizing decision to make,_ he thought with a tired sigh. Miho was saying something, to which Eiji responded enthusiastically to, so he looked up curiously, pushing his thoughts to the back of his mind. "What are we discussing?" he asked amiably.

Miho turned her smile to him. "I was suggesting that you and Eiji-kun also come over to my house so we can practice for the play. That way, we can go over more parts so we're better prepared for the rehearsal next week. What do you think? You wouldn't mind, would you? There is no school tomorrow, after all?" She looked at him hopefully.

Fuji's forced his smile to become wider. "Of course not," he responded with enthusiasm to match Eiji, forced as well. Truthfully, he just wanted to go home and sleep. Maybe call Yuuta and convince his brother to play a match with him at the indoor tennis courts. But his friends were looking at him expectantly, so he just shrugged away his tiredness and agreed. It couldn't be that bad, besides, practice for the play was necessary. Up until now, he had asked Yumiko to play the role of the princess whenever he got the urge to practice his lines.

Miho glanced at Fuji as they started walking down the street. Her gaze shifted to her brother, and she noticed how he was explaining something about the violin to her friend. Also noticed (or perhaps felt) by Miho was Fuji's gaze, watching the two as they strode along. She glanced down at the sidewalk as she shuffled along, deep in thought. For once, her scheming brother had failed in his schemes. She had noticed, as the month wore on, that he had actively engaged himself in the job of vexing Fuji, be it coming to the school gates in order to talk to her or directing her attention to something that he knew about whenever the other boy was there, in this current case, a thorough lessen in the violin and its history. And she had noticed, as well, the hole that Oshitari Yuushi was digging himself into.

_It's not a bluff anymore,_ she thought as she continued to walk forward. This had become apparent last weekend, when the bookstore she frequented boasted of a new best-selling series on its shelves. Naturally, she called up Asa, inquiring that she come with her. Oshitari had tagged along with them. At first, she had thought that it was simply their mother asking him to do it, until she noticed that the majority of his attention was on her friend during the trip. It seemed that he was always watching her. _He really does like her, now._ She glanced at her brother, noticing the tiny smile on his face when Asa tried to recite whatever new fact about the instrument he had thrown at her, a tiny frown on her face.

_I'm sorry, Fuji-sama,_ she thought apologetically, _but this time, I really want Nii-san to win._ This was partly because she loved her brother dearly, even if they weren't related by blood, but partly, because like any other fan, she didn't like to see her idol being taken by someone else. _Forgive me, but I'll be rooting for Nii-san from now on._

She should have felt content with this, having managed to kill two birds with one stone. Her brother could be with someone he liked, and she could have an equal chance of being with Fuji as any other fangirl of his, now that the biggest rival was removed (perhaps it was also a tad bit ironic that the rival herself didn't even know this). She moved a hand to her chest, right beneath where her neck joined together with her shoulder blades, and her hand clenched into a fist, clutching at the material of her coat. If that was the case, why did she feel like this?

Why did she feel so horrible?


	15. Chapter 14

**_Chapter 14_**

It was the Wednesday after Valentine's Day by the time Asa or any other of Miho's friends dared to venture forth about the transaction between the different families. Granted, Miho still called Oshitari 'nii-san,' but that could be because she still felt that he was a brother to her even though she moved on to another family. It was a touchy subject to get around to, but Asa was curious to know and wanted to help out if need be, so she cornered Oshitari on one of the shopping trips to the mall that they were dragged to, Miho being conveniently browsing in a pet store.

"Did it go through?" she asked. There was a small food stand nearby, and Oshitari had offered to buy something for the three of them, despite her protests that she could pay for herself.

"Which transaction?" he asked, handing her a small, wrapped crepe. "You like banana, don't you?"

"Hai, arigatou." She took it, and then tilted her head to look at him seriously. "You know which one," she rebuked, before nibbling at her crepe. "I was just wondering if it went through or not. Miho-chan really didn't want to go when she mentioned it."

Oshitari gave her a curious look. "That was over a month ago," he said slowly. To say the least, he was impressed that she still remembered it. "I'm not entirely sure of the details," he continued on, looking thoughtfully at the other shoppers as he spoke, "but she's not going back. I'll just assume that Okaa-san and Otou-san shot down the offer. And I suppose it's good in its own way; a saddened Miho is such an annoyance."

"Who's an annoyance?" Both turned to see Miho, a frown on the girl's face as she regarded her brother and her friend. "Mou… talking about me behind my back isn't really nice, Asa-chan! I was pretty sure I heard my name being mentioned!" she whined before having a crepe shoved in front of her face.

"Chocolate," Oshitari offered as she took the treat with a nod of thanks. "And yes, I suppose you could say that we were talking about you behind your back."

"About what?" Miho asked curiously, biting into her crepe as they started walking.

"That transaction you mentioned before," Asa said, watching her friend's face closely. "You never mentioned it again, and we were all getting a bit worried." Fuji had brought up the topic a few days ago, and Eiji had been musing about it during lunch that day at school.

Miho grinned. "Oh, that…" she said vaguely, that smile stretching a bit wider. "It never went through. My worst nightmare has been stopped in its tracks!"

"Ah… that's nice to hear." Asa smiled slightly as they continued walking. _It's good to see that Miho-chan's life is going alright,_ she thought happily. "What did you want to do something specific today?" Asa asked. Now that she thought about it, Miho hadn't given her an explanation about why she wanted to go shopping that afternoon, not even an 'I just have to go!' explanation.

"Everyone in the Seigaku Regulars is hosting a party for Fuji-sama's birthday at Taka-san's sushi restaurant," Miho explained. The exact details were still being worked on, but any big celebration involving the Seigaku boys' tennis team usually involved the Kawamuras' sushi restaurant. "I'm looking for the perfect present. Are you getting him one?" Just because she had decided that she would try with all her might to get her semi-clueless friend to fall for her brother didn't mean that said friend couldn't exchange birthday gifts with other friends.

"I found a photography book the other day…" Asa began. Fuji had been walking her home like usual, but they had decided to take a detour (more like Fuji decided for them) and they found themselves walking down a street lined with shops. A new photography book on display in one of the shop windows had caught the brown-haired boy's attention, and she thought it would be a nice gift. "I just hope they still have it. I think it was a limited edition because it was signed by the photographer."

"Those things always seem to be off the shelves quickly," Oshitari said softly. Try as he might, a hint of bitterness still had a way of creeping into his voice, no matter how suave he tried to make himself sound, at the mention of the other boy.

The boy he was supposed to annoy by using her, not being annoyed by him when she mentioned even his name. And he didn't even have to be within his line of sight to do it.

Asa nodded, finishing the rest of her snack before throwing away the wrapper into a trash can. A store selling little miscellaneous items caught her eyes, and she excused herself from the group to see them. Miho was about to follow her when she turned to her brother, a glint in her eyes. "Jealous?" she teased. His only response was a twitch as she grinned devilishly at him. "You could ask her on a date, you know," she chided. That strange feeling she had gotten the other day resurfaced, and she pushed it down forcefully. "Make it something casual. Tennis lessons are cool; Asa-chan said once that she'd like to learn tennis one day."

Oshitari gave her a short glare. "What are you? A matchmaker of some sorts?" he grumbled.

She snorted. "You know you need me," she retorted hotly. "Asa-chan's clueless when it comes to this, and you don't like taking the initiative on these sorts of things. I've just decided I'd help out a bit." Her eyes found a store selling gifts of all occasions and she trotted off, leaving Oshitari standing there in the hallway. Feeling somewhat self-conscious about being left alone in the middle of a crowded shopping center, he began making his way into the miscellaneous items shop. One hand was in his pocket as he counted how much money he had. Maybe he'd stop at a sporting center later and buy some new grip tape; he was running out and it didn't help matters much that Jiroh had "borrowed" half of his dwindling supply the last time they were at Atobe's house to practice in his indoor courts.

"Ne, Oshitari-kun…" He stopped his counting and glanced up, snapping out of his reverie. A small keychain dangled in front of his nose. "Doesn't this look an awful lot like you?" Behind the keychain was a pair of dusty blue eyes, curiously looking at the little item. He frowned and looked closely at the small keychain.

Indeed, it did look a lot like him. He didn't know whether or not he should be flattered or worried. It was a tiny chibi model of him, complete with a tennis racket and a hand pushing up his glasses. "See? There are more, too, like this one that looks like Tezuka-kun…" Asa held up another keychain, dangling it off of her finger. It was a perfect likeness of the stoic captain of Seigaku.

Oshitari meandered over to the shelf where the rest of the keychains were hanging. The first one that caught his eye was Atobe's. He lifted it off of its hook and smirked at the small product. No doubt when the diva saw it he would say something like 'Now the whole world will know of Ore-sama's prowess.' Maybe he should buy one; it was only 100 yen. One for Gakuto, too, possibly? His doubles partner might like it. Or maybe he'd just get one for him and withhold giving it to Hyotei's acrobatic player until his birthday, all the way in September.

"Excuse me, sir? Can I help you or your girlfriend?" A saleslady had appeared behind him, watching him warily as if she thought he was going to snag the little Atobe keychain and bolt out of the store without paying for it.

"Eh, no thank you, I was just browsing," he said silkily, until his mind did a double-take. "Did you just…?"

A wary glare from the lady, and then she turned to nod at Asa, who was currently debating which little keychain she'd take home with her at a separate table. "She is your girlfriend, isn't she?"

"No," he said flatly._ Not yet, at least._ "Let's pay and go; Miho might be waiting," he said to her, taking her by the arm and guiding the girl to the cash register. Although, of course, he knew that Miho would charge in looking for them if she was done. But the lady kept staring at him and to say the least, it was starting to annoy him.

"Uh… OK…" Asa swiped a little Fuji keychain without even looking at which one she grabbed, placing it on the counter next to the Oshitari one. "I'll pay for yours, too," she offered, since she had seen Oshitari take a keychain (or perhaps two… she hadn't really been paying that much attention). He handed them over wordlessly, intent on keeping his back to the saleslady who was still frowning warily at him.

"That will be 420 yen!" Asa handed over the money and took the small bag, reaching in and extracting Oshitari's two purchases to hand to the boy as they left the store. Miho wasn't back yet, so the two of them found a bench to sit at as they waited for the last of their trio to reemerge from her shopping expedition. An awkward silence ensued as they sat there.

Oshitari leaned casually against the back of the bench, watching as other shoppers continued on their ways in front of him. His thumb rubbed idly over chibi Atobe's face as he held the keychain in his hand (the one of Gakuto he had stowed safely into his pocket already). A little boy was bouncing after his mother, chattering happily to her about Valentine's chocolates, even though the holiday had already passed. Speaking of chocolates…

"I forgot to mention, thank you for the chocolates," he said politely. He didn't turn to look at her, opting to keep his brown eyes focused in front of him. He couldn't believe that he had forgotten to thank her for them, even after he had written all of those thank you letters (requested by his mother) to all of his fans who had taken the liberties of showering him with Valentine gifts.

"Oh, those?" There was a tiny hint of nervousness in her voice as she answered him, and he raised an eyebrow in surprise, cocking his head to one side. "Were they alright?" she asked, feeling that it was safe to ask him whether or not he had chosen to taste them.

"Quite nice, except a slight bit burnt on a few of them." She sighed, lowering her head. It looked like her chocolate making skills needed work. "But Miho tells me it's your first time making them. It's actually quite impressive," he admitted grudgingly. Her cheeks flushed in pleasure at the praise; it was always nice when one was complimented on their works. He was silent for a moment, before venturing forth with, "Have you ever played tennis?" Random, perhaps, but he was curious to see if Miho was speaking the truth when she mentioned the tennis lessons. He chose to ignore the date part for the time being and simply ease into things easily.

"When I was little, I did a bit of tennis," she offered, "but I quit after a while and haven't played it since. I'd love to have lessons, but it's kind of complicated…" Not the sport itself, but her heart and health condition. It was because of tennis that she was diagnosed with the abnormally weak heart, courtesy of a collapse in the middle of the court when she was five years old. She shuddered at the memory.

"Complicated?" He frowned thoughtfully, "As in underdeveloped muscles? Lack of stamina to get you through a game? Bad hand-eye coordination?" She blinked in puzzlement, and he offered a small smirk. "But, that asides, if you'd like to I could teach you. If you're not comfortable with working with the whole court we could simply use the wall for everything; it won't require much running and ball control can be worked on." Ah… he was starting to sound like a tennis coach.

Her eyes literally shone. "Really?" she asked hopefully. As far as she could see, there was no immediate danger with the wall. She figured a small bit of tennis wouldn't hurt. His nod followed to accompany his offer, and she smiled widely. "Thank you so much!"

His smirk turned into a tiny smile of his own. "We could do it at the Hyotei courts on Saturday afternoons. We normally don't have practice then thanks to Sasaki-sensei and his policy about schoolwork and I think we'll be able to get a wall from anyone who does stay behind to practice." Of course, with him being the resident tensai, all he had to do was ask and the wall would be his, but she didn't need to know that. "Will that be alright with you?" An enthusiastic nod and his small smile grew a tad bit wider. "Good. We can do it this week; the nets will be up by then and a new season will have started." Then, he uttered the four words he had never before thought would come out of his mouth. "It's a date."

She blinked, stunned, and for a moment, no words were available at her disposal. When she _did_ finally regain her power of speech, the only thing she could think up of saying was, "Mou, Oshitari-kun!" to which his smile grew even wider.

And then the second thing he never thought he'd do in the course of his life happened. He actually leaned over slightly and pecked her lightly on the cheek.

Oh, if only she hadn't asked…

Oh, if only he had thought of this sooner…

Neither noticed Miho tittering to herself in the doorway of the store she had been browsing in earlier. Thankfully, they had been facing the other way.

***

Kawamura's Sushi restaurant was ringing with the gentle buzz of conversation on the afternoon of February 28th. Customers were finishing their meals, getting up and thanking the elder Kawamura for his sushi before paying an exiting, the restaurant's owner waving cheerfully after them from his place behind the counter. When they had all gone, he picked up a white sign and walked outside, hanging it on his door. "Reserved today," it read, as he shut the sliding door again, stepping back inside to find his son sharpening the knife.

"Ah, Takashi, are you planning on making sushi tonight?" he asked good-naturedly as his keen eyes watched his son's steady movements.

Kawamura Takashi nodded, eyes on the knife. "Hai. I want to make the best sushi for Fuji's birthday today."

His father chuckled. "That's nice to hear! I wish you lots of luck then, in making your perfect sushi." The boy paused in his movements, lifting his head and offering his father a shy smile before returning to his work.

_Much planning and debate has gone into this on Eiji and Oishi's part,_ he thought as he set down the knife and went to make sure that they had a good supply of wasabi on hand. _Therefore, in order to ensure that their efforts aren't wasted, I need to make the best sushi possible for Fuji's birthday celebration._ This quiet resolve was reached even without him switching to his burning mode by grabbing his racket. Making his teammates happy did not require the use of that, he felt.

The Seigaku regulars arrived dutifully at five o'clock, as said on the invitations sent out by Eiji the week before. Each came with a present and cheery salutation (minus Tezuka, who simply gave a nod, but came bearing gifts nonetheless), and Taka-san served tea as he listened to their chatterings. Presently, the door opened and the boy whose birthday they were all celebrating entered, a brilliant smile on his face. "Good afternoon!" he offered brightly, and was promptly assaulted by one of Eiji's hugs.

"Happy birthday, Fujiko-chan!" the redhead squealed, hugging the petite boy with all he was worth. Fuji chuckled, patting his best friend on the back until Eiji released him so the others could even have a chance to approach him. There was a general chorusing of 'Happy birthdays' before Taka-san brought out a platter of sushi, a generous amount wasabi sushi included among the other kinds. The whole house was open to their activities, and even though the reserved sign was present, they offered to take it upstairs so that other costumers could come as well. Taka declined the offer, although he did let them all hang out in his room, which they promptly inclined to do so; Taka's room was rather spacious as it was.

"Eat up, minna!" Taka said happily, and then stepped back to watch the regulars fall onto the sushi like a pack of ravenous wolves. There was a yelp of "Momo took my Unagi sushi!" from Eiji, to which Fuji chuckled lightly as he helped himself to a wasabi roll, watching Eiji pounce on the younger of Seigaku's two powerhouses. His smiling eyes passed idly over his happy friends, and he offered Miho a gentle smile when the girl looked his way. He was happy, he truly was, but something was missing.

"Oshitari-chan, do you know where Aa-chan is?" he asked innocently. He had been looking forward to seeing her at his birthday get-together, since it included his friends and teammates and it just seemed so natural that she be there with them. And he had finally racked his brains for a seemingly "innocent" idea of getting her to take him seriously, too… of course, not without the help of Yumiko, he had to admit, albeit grudgingly.

"Asa-chan said she'd be running a bit late," Mih said sweetly. As Oshitari's sister, she had naturally heard of these tennis lessons he and her friend was undergoing, so she knew where Asa was currently at this moment: Hyotei tennis courts. The tiniest flash of hurt crossed her brown eyes for the briefest of moments. Why was Fuji such a stubborn person? Couldn't he just forget about Asa for some time and enjoy his own birthday without even breaching the subject?

_Ah… I'm surprised at my thoughts and feelings, _she thought in surprise, moodily stuffing one of Taka-san's sushi into her mouth and concentrating her efforts on chewing. She was truly surprised; she hadn't known she could get this venomous over something that didn't involve her real family. The sliding of the front door redirected her attention, and she looked up, picking up another sushi from the tray in front of her.

"We're out of wasabi sushi…" Fuji noted, glancing down at the tray. All of the prodigy's favorite rolls were indeed gone, him having munched through them all quite happily. "I'll go ask Taka-san for some more, then. Does anyone else want anything?" he asked as he stood up. There were shaking of heads, and Oishi offered to get the sushi instead but was politely declined by Fuji. "My legs are starting to fall asleep," he admitted sheepishly, "so I think some movement will be good."

Taka was happy to comply with his request for some more wasabi sushi, and vanished into the back room to get some more wasabi, leaving Fuji to spend some time alone in the main room of the restaurant. He made himself comfortable at one of the tables and let his eyes travel over the posters of sushi hanging over the counter. The opening of the front door redirected his attention, and he turned to look curiously at its source.

"Ah, Fuji-kun!" Asa was standing in the doorway, looking surprised to see only him and nobody else. "Why are you the only one here?" she ventured forth.

For answer, Fuji pointed upwards and watched as a look of confusion cross over the girl's face before realization dawned on her. "Naruhodo…" she muttered, although a small smile threatened to tug at her lips. "Mind if I join you, then?" she asked, sitting down next to him. He shook his head wordlessly, listening to Taka move around in the back room and speak to his father. "I'm sorry for being late," Asa offered finally after a short moment of silence. She and Oshitari had finished their tennis lesson a half hour ago, and she was pleased to say that she wasn't too shabby. Oshitari was a patient teacher, making sure she got one thing done well and correctly before moving on to the next and repeating the whole process of demonstration, oral directions, and the like. Of course, there could be many alternative reasons to his patience… her cheek still felt warm from where he had kissed it, even though more than a week had passed since that incident.

"It's alright. I'm glad you could make it." And he meant it, too, turning his head to her and offering a soft smile, a special one just for her. She returned it with a smile of her own, although he noticed that she seemed a bit more tired than usual.

"While we're sitting here, I'll give this to you." She reached into her bag and withdrew a present, wrapped in light blue paper, handing it over to him. He looked at it curiously, accepting it and turning it around in his hands. It was wondrously heavy; he wondered what it was. "Happy early birthday. Hurry and open it, please?" She looked at him hopefully, and he chuckled good-naturedly before tearing the paper carefully off of the present.

What greeted him was a leather-bound book, one that looked vaguely familiar to him. In a rush of anticipation he opened it, and she had the satisfaction of hearing a small gasp of delight escape his lips as he saw the signed autograph on the front page. "Wonderful!" he muttered fervently, his fingers skimming over the smooth pages as his eyes drank in the vibrant colors it held inside it. "The angles that were used… the perception of depth… this one is one of the best works yet. And the colors…!" He laughed softly, gleefully, like a small child, pure and innocent. Asa let out a small breath she hadn't known she was holding. He liked her gift.

She was so glad… it was nice to see that her efforts paid off in a good way.

"It's wonderful," Fuji said firmly as he shut the book gently, stroking its cover lovingly. "This couldn't be that book we saw the other day, wasn't it?"

"That other day you speak of was at least two weeks ago."

"Ah… it was?" Fuji tipped his head to the side as he regarded the girl curiously, a thoughtful expression on his face. "It seems so much farther than I originally thought."

She frowned at him, leaning forward on her elbows so that she could drop her chin onto her hands. "Really?" She was skeptical, but didn't say anything. He never really gave her the chance.

"Do you believe in fate?" He was leaning forward himself, so that the distance between their faces was painfully little. A very serious expression was on his face; he had dropped his smile and now was looking at her with his sharp blue eyes. For the first time since she had met him, Asa stared back at the real Fuji Syusuke, the side of him that did not have his fake mask to hide behind. He was totally open, his eyes the doorway to his thoughts, yet he still managed to be guarded. How he did that she would never know.

His left hand reached up, sliding under her bangs and resting on her forehead. He dropped it down so that it covered her eyes. "I sometimes get so caught up between what fate really is and what I actually make for myself." His voice had dropped down to a low whisper. "Do you?"

Of course, he expected no answer. It was rather difficult to answer someone when your mouth was covered by the other's. It was a chaste kiss; he was pulling away before he could do anything else. She blinked in surprise before pulling back, one hand covering her mouth. He had the satisfaction of seeing her cheeks turn a pretty shade of red.

His smiling mask returned as he held up his right hand, the index finger and thumb touching each other as he gave her an impish grin. "Saa…" he teased, flashing his most innocent smile, "when fingers are placed like this, it feels a lot like lips, doesn't it?"

Crouching in the stairway were the stunned Regulars. Oishi's mouth opened and close with no sound coming out while Tezuka's frown had deepened considerably. None of them believed Fuji's excuse with the fingers. Quietly, they retreated back upstairs only when Taka reappeared behind the counter, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "I'm sorry it took so long. I'll prepare your sushi right away, Fuji. Eh?"

Asa stood hurriedly, grabbing her bag in the process and turning to Taka-san. "I'm sorry for the trouble!" she squeaked and promptly fled out the doors, leaving a puzzled Taka-san and Fuji left in the front room, the latter wondering whether or not he should be faintly amused or faintly hurt. "What happened?" Taka asked, starting to make the sushi Fuji had requested. "Ijuuin-chan left in such a hurry." The gentle boy's eyes found the book sitting in its own little makeshift nest of blue paper, and he smiled. "Did she give you a birthday present? That was nice of her…"

The corners of Fuji's mouth turned up in a blissful smile. "Yes, it was," he said softly. Taka's hands stilled on the sushi he was making to look at his friend in puzzlement. Fuji was staring outside the window with a wonderfully pleased and happy look, so similar to the expressions he wore when he finished pulling some prank but yet so different.

"Ano… are you sure nothing out of the ordinary happened?" he ventured.

Fuji chuckled. "Of course not," he reassured. "I just decided I wanted to have a little fun on my birthday by teasing her a bit." A relatively harmless excuse, he felt, but Taka still flushed into a thousand shades of red. "What's wrong, Taka?" Fuji asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Eh? Ah… nothing. Here's your sushi. Everyone will worry if you don't go back up soon. It_ is_ your birthday party, after all." Fuji had a feeling that Taka was trying to shoo him upstairs so that he would be out of his sight as he was handed a plate of wasabi rolls.

"You come, too, Taka-san," he offered, pausing at the foot of the stairs to turn to the other boy. "It's not much of a party without everyone, ne?"

"I suppose so..." Reluctantly, Taka followed his teammate up the stairs, still trying to ponder what he had been talking about a few minutes ago.

"Taka-san."

"Hai?"

"Your cheeks are still red." And then Fuji, chuckling as he did so, leaned over and poked his friend lightly on the cheek, making the other boy turn a few hundred shades more red.

***

Yumiko was sitting at the kitchen table with her open laptop in front of her. Her fingers flew over the keyboard as she typed up a report for her work. At the side of the laptop sat a mug of coffee, a pad of paper, and a pen. Yoshiko was at the stove, watching a few simmering pots. Both women paused in their work only when they heard the front door open. Fuji stepped into the front hallway, arms laden with gifts and a box of sushi dangling from his arm. He toed off his shoes and stepped into the kitchen, offering his sister and mother his usual smile.

"Tadaima," he said softly, setting down the sushi on the table.

"Welcome back, Syusuke," Yumiko said brightly, giving her own smile to her brother. "Did you enjoy your birthday party? Yuuta will be here tomorrow; we've managed to convince him to stay the night so that we can celebrate."

Fuji's smile grew wider as he sat down. "Really?" he asked pleasantly. His presents were placed on the table, and Yumiko moved her pad and pencil to the other side of the computer so that she could take a closer look at all his gifts. Fuji swiped her coffee mug and took a sip out of it, making a face at its bitterness. "Did you put anything in here?" he asked, frowning into the dark liquid. "Why don't you try coffee cream or sugar? How about milk? Black coffee is too bitter."

Yumiko laughed as she took her drink back, and Yoshiko couldn't help chuckling a bit either as she stirred the contents in one of her pots. "That's what you get for drinking someone else's coffee, Syusuke," she teased, then looked thoughtful. Her eyes studied her brother's face, and he looked curiously back at her. "Maybe the reason you don't grow so much is because you used to always steal kaa-san's coffee when you were a kid," she said slowly, giving a few slow nods of her head. "Coffee hastens calcium depletion, and growing children need calcium to grow tall…" She trailed off, still studying him. "Honestly, Syusuke, I always wondered why you liked coffee ever since you were eight."

Fuji frowned at his sister. "It tastes delicious if you add milk and cream and sugar," he replied, although he did see a point in Yumiko's statements. He supposed that he should be slightly worried that Yuuta was already taller than he was, and at the rate he was growing, would probably grow more. "I suppose you're right," he sighed, but Yumiko's attention had already strayed from the topic of his height and coffee to the gifts he had received.

She picked up the handmade picture frame and turned it around in her hands. It was Eiji's personal handiwork, as seen from the little cat faces and random little tennis balls drawn all along the border. "Aw…" she cooed, "Kawaii! Eiji-kun has a taste for crafts." Fuji chuckled, agreeing, as Yumiko set down the frame and then moved through the rest. Her hands paused on the book. "Who gave this to you?" she asked, flipping though the pages. "This is the one you've wanted for a while now, isn't it?"

"Hai. It was nice of Aa-chan to get it for me," Fuji said, taking the book from his sister. "Although I didn't understand why you made me throw in that thing about fate," he said, absentmindedly picking up Yumiko's coffee mug again when the eldest Fuji set it back down on the table.

Yumiko smiled at him. "There is a reason for everything," she chided, wagging a finger in his face, keeping a strict eye on her mug of coffee.

The front door suddenly opened and shut with a loud slam. "I'm back!" came Yuuta's cranky voice. Fuji was up and out of the kitchen in a flash, the mug of coffee forgotten on the table, and the next they heard was a grunting sound as Fuji hugged his little brother.

"Yuuta! You came back to celebrate my birthday!" he said happily, still attached to Yuuta's neck. "I'm so happy!"

Yuuta did not look too thrilled at this greeting, and neither Yumiko nor Yoshiko pleading gently with the elder Fuji brother could get him to detach himself from Yuuta. Fuji simply complained that it was his birthday, Yuuta didn't get to come home that often, the guys at the St. Rudolph dorms never showed his little brother too much affection (but of course, if that was ever to happen the other boy would find himself in serious trouble, courtesy of one Fuji Syusuke). But still, seeing as it _was_ Fuji's birthday, and Yuuta _didn't _come home that often, his sister and mother let him continue to hang on to Yuuta.

Yuuta visibly deflated when he saw that he lost the support of his mother and sister and was left to fend for himself with Fuji. And it didn't help matters much when Yumiko vanished into her room and came back with a digital camera. "Look here, Yuuta, Syusuke!" And flash from the camera and Yuuta groaned. Fuji looked positively thrilled.

"Aniki, can you let go now?" Yuuta grumbled, and Fuji, feeling as he had made his point with his welcome, willingly complied with Yuuta's wish. Yuuta breathed a sigh of relief. Honestly, did he have to go to such measures just to welcome him? "Here," he grunted, handing his smiling brother a small blue envelope. "It's your birthday present. It's nothing fancy; I'll apologize beforehand." Although, really, he didn't see why he bothered, as Fuji had given him another hug and was telling him that it didn't matter; that it was the thought that counted. "Just open it already, Aniki!" he found himself snapping, his voice dangerously close to a frustrated wail.

It did not do his ego or his pride any good when said brother laughed outright. At least he complied with opening the envelope. Yuuta slumped against the wall with a sulky expression on his face. He would never admit it, but he had actually thought long and hard in his messy dorm room about what to get his seemingly perfect brother for a birthday gift. Just ask Yanagisawa, who had the bruises to prove it, gotten when the third year had opened Yuuta's door and asked him if he was ready for practice when Yuuta had been agonizing over the gift issue. Yuuta had thrown a library book in the general direction of the older boy's voice without even looking where it was going, and it had hit him in the face.

Who knew Yuuta had such great aim when it didn't come to tennis?

"Movie tickets for four," Fuji announced as he slid the envelope's contents out onto the palm of his hand. "Good until the end of April. I wonder if there are any good movies playing recently?"

Yuuta breathed a sigh of relief, letting out a breath he had never known he was holding. His brother liked his gift.

"Yuuta, Syusuke, dinner's ready," Yoshiko called out to her sons. Both boys trotted dutifully into the kitchen, leaving Yuuta's duffel bag in which he had stuffed enough clothes to last him a night (three nights, if things such as pumpkin currey and raspberry pies tempted him to stay longer) in the front hallway. Fuji set his movie tickets on the counter, using an orange as a paperweight, before sitting down. A generous spread of food was laid out on the table, and even though he had stuffed himself on Taka's sushi previously, there would always be room for more if it involved his mother's cooking.

"Itadakimasu!" the Fujis' said dutifully, before starting to eat. He wore a contented smile on his face as he ate, and Yoshiko never ceased putting more onto his plate when it was near empty. By the time dinner was over, he was pleasantly stuffed, and Yuuta was finishing his last slice of raspberry pie. Yuuta paused in his eating to look up, chewing thoughtfully and swallowing while the female members of their family drifted off to wash the dishes.

"Did you like your birthday, aniki?"

"Of course, Yuuta. Why do you ask?"

Yuuta frowned, poking his pie with his fork. "No reason. It's good that you're enjoying it." He popped another mouthful of pie into his mouth and suddenly jumped up. "Aniki! How did you…?" Yumiko popped her head into the dining room curiously.

Fuji put a finger to his lips while the other hand held a small tube of wasabi. "I just thought I'd see if you could take spicy food, Yuuta. Maybe I should have added it to your water instead."

Yuuta grumbled, and only after making sure the rest of his beloved pie was wasabi-free, continued to eat. His brother was disgusting at times. Wasabi in pie? Leave it to him to think of that.

But still… Yuuta was glad he had such a person as a brother. Fuji could be so annoying sometimes, but he was really protective and generally a wonderful person to have on his side.

Of course, Fuji was _never _going to know that. It was a good thing Fuji wasn't a physic.

"Ne, Yuuta, don't you think that sometimes you need a little spice in your life?" Fuji asked. That could either have a figurative or literal meaning. Which one it was, Yuuta wasn't entirely sure.

And about the physic part… he wasn't one, but he was sure close to being one.

"I like my life as it is without the additional spice, aniki." The tube of wasabi suddenly reentered his vision, and he shot up, grabbing his plate before his brother could put any of the hated spice into his precious dessert. Fuji laughed brightly, protesting, and the two fled upstairs. Yoshiko and Yumiko peered after them, each smiling slightly when they heard Yuuta's angry protests finally turn into something akin to laughter.

Fuji was happy, truly happy. And that was the best birthday present he could ever get.

* * *

A/N: Bleh. Really long and the last part was kind of random. But we all know Yuuta loves his brother, so that's all good.

And I apologize. Oshitari is a bit OOC in this chapter. Throw your tomatoes if you have any. And the part with Fuji and Asa at Taka's sushi restaurant with Fuji's fingers excuse? Not an idea from my own original mind. XD I got it from a doujinshi (I think I spelled that wrong...) on Ore-sama. That site is awesome.

And... if you got a story alert email, I put it up once already but then deleted it upon rereading and discovered it needed some editing. I'm sorry if that bugged you in any way, shape, or form, and I promise that it will never happen again.

Thanks for reading! Reviews are love (please do it... it's not too painful, is it?)


	16. Chapter 15

**_Chapter 15_**

Months passed. The tennis season had started again and both the Seigaku and Hyotei teams were practicing every day, and when coupled with the amount of homework everyone was getting to prepare them for the upcoming final exams, the boys had plenty to keep them busy. Asa offered to discontinue their tennis lessons in a conversation once with Oshitari as they were packing away their things one Saturday afternoon, but the blue-haired boy was adamant in keeping the lessons going. 'Besides,' he had said when she brought up the topic of schoolwork, 'my parents send me to summer school every year, and I just relearn everything. I know everything by now.'

If only she could say the same thing for herself…

It was the end of May, and her birthday had come and gone (May 15th; her family surprised her with a little birthday celebration, complete with balloons and streamers. She felt like a child again). She was fifteen years old. It would have been an entirely awesome birthday had they not had a Chemistry test that day at school.

She sighed moodily as she looked up from her sitting position on the floor to Miho. Currently, she was at the Oshitari residence with Fuji and Eiji, practicing for the play that was coming up in just a week. Although, honestly, she couldn't understand why she had to be dragged along in the first place. She was in charge of the costumes, and it wasn't like she was going to have a part in the production.

"Asa-chan, pay attention!" Miho said sharply, rapping her friend on the head with her knuckles. "We'll do it again until we get this perfectly!"

She heaved another sigh. "Mou, Miho-chan, you're worse than sensei!" she complained, but stood nonetheless. Fuji chuckled as he stood as well, pulling Eiji to his feet as he did so. And so the afternoon wore on, Miho going to great lengths to try to get each scene perfectly with their limited cast. By the time they were done, Asa swore that she never wanted to see another play in her entire life for however long she lived.

"Thanks for all your hard work!" Miho piped up cheerfully as she waved goodbye to her friends at her gate. They returned it and continued along on their way, Asa sighing yet again.

"Tired?" Fuji asked with a tip of his head. There was no longer a need for heavy jackets, so he just wore his school uniform. The black overcoat was draped over his arm, and the white shirt he wore contrasted sharply with the darkening sky. "It's late, after all," he said with a small smile.

Eiji grinned and flashed his victory sign. "But it was fun, working on that play, nya!" he offered cheerfully. Asa groaned, not saying anything, and Fuji laughed softly. "I can't wait for the actual day we get to put it on!" He was bouncing excitedly along the walkway as they continued on their way; Eiji was heading over to Fuji's house to spend the night. Perhaps that was why he was so happy; being able to spend the night with his best friend. Asa smiled slightly as she mulled over this.

Fuji nodded, shadows dancing over his face as he did so. "Oh, I remembered!" he said brightly all of a sudden. Eiji and Asa both turned to him, although they didn't stop walking. "We have the Kanto Regionals tomorrow," he finished.

Eiji sighed. "And here I thought it would be something earth-shattering," the redhead said with a wave of his hand. "But it was the Regionals he was talking about." But all the same, Asa detected a deep excitement hidden in his voice. It was different than his usual one. This was one that said that he wanted to win.

"Good luck, then," Asa offered the two boys. "Win and advance to the Nationals, ne?"

"Of course!" Eiji cheered, jumping up and pumping his arm enthusiastically, earning him curious looks from a family taking a walk around the neighborhood. Ignoring them, Eiji continued on, much to Fuji's amusement. "We'll be Number 1!" He nodded firmly, set on his decision. "Ryuzaki-sensei's been making me practice doubles with so many people. Doubles 1 should be taken by Seigaku, no matter who I play with!"

His companions chuckled. "Ah… that's nice to hear," Asa said. Doubles 1 would no truly no doubt be Eiji and someone. Momo, perhaps? In the first round of the Kanto Regionals against Hyotei they had proved to be an impressively strong pair against Oshitari and Gakuto. "You don't know the order until the tournament day, do you?" she asked.

"Sensei tells us right before we get on the courts," Fuji said. "Although with Tezuka in Germany, it will either be me or Echizen in Singles 1. What suspense, ne?"

"Hai, hai." _That's right,_ she thought, falling silent as she walked. The streetlights lit up, illuminating the street in circular patches spaced regularly apart._ Tezuka-kun is in Germany to finish rehab._ She knew from being at the tennis practices as an onlooker, as well as from the teachers in charge of the school play. A replacement had to be brought in for Tezuka's part._ I hope he's doing alright._ She giggled a tiny bit to herself. Really, now. She probably didn't have to worry. Tezuka being Tezuka would definitely not do anything rash while in rehab.

"Cheer for us tomorrow." Fuji's voice brought her back to the present. "You _will _be coming, won't you?" he asked, watching her closely. To say the least, it was unnerving when you were being stared at by those smiling eyes.

"I'll try," she said timidly, "but I'm not 100% sure that I can make it." She had a trip to the hospital to attend to tomorrow morning.

"But you'll try, won't you?" Eiji whined, pouncing on the girl. "If you don't, Fujiko-chan will be sad!"

"Eiji… what are you saying…?"

Eiji glanced innocently at his best friend. "What?" he asked, while Fuji just shook his head. "Anyways," Eiji continued on as if nothing had happened, "you will try, won't you, nya?"

"Hai… I'll try." Eiji detached himself with a satisfied smile on his face as she broke off from the group to head up the walkway to her house. The two boys waved farewell and continued on to Fuji's house, chattering cheerfully as they did so. When they let themselves into the house, Yumiko welcomed them with a smile before the two boys headed up to Fuji's room. Yuuta wasn't home, being currently at the dorms, so Fuji just padded into his younger brother's closet and grabbed a spare futon. He was tempted to ruffle through Yuuta's things and see if he had anything interesting that he could use to tease his adorable little brother the next time he came back, but decided against it.

"Will this be alright?" he asked Eiji. His friend nodded brightly and he spread the futon on the ground. "I look forward to tomorrows match against Rokkaku," he said softly as he glanced out his window. Eiji slipped into the futon with a happy sigh of agreement.

"We'll do our best, nya?"

"Of course we will."

One of Fuji's arms reached out to turn off the light, plunging the room into darkness save for the small amount of moonlight that filtered through his closed shades to fall onto his floor and the futon. Eiji's steady breathing soon told the honey-haired prodigy that his guest was asleep, and he rolled over onto his side as he listened to the sounds his friend made as he was in the lands of sleep. In the near darkness, his eyes were open, revealing the beautiful blue depth of his eyes.

The scant moonlight made his eyes glow in the dark, and he was surprised to find a strange wetness on his cheeks as he tried to make himself comfortable on his bed. _Ah…_ He sat up, pulling the shades open slightly so that he could stare out. His reflection gazed back at him, the blue eyes adopting a seemingly lost look that he was not accustomed to seeing. And speaking of not accustomed to seeing…

_I'm crying…_

He reached up and brushed his fingers against the tears. To his knowledge, he never cried. Even when he was a child, he very rarely shed tears, according to his mother and Yumiko.

He sighed and flopped ungracefully down on his bed, or, he tried to, at least. Somehow, with his lithe frame, everything he did had some graceful quality to it. _It takes all the fun out of it,_ he thought, feeling his familiar mask creep over his face before he shook himself out of it to tackle a bigger problem. Honestly speaking, he had no reason to cry.

_I feel like I lost something._ He turned his head to the wall, a small frown making itself comfortable on his face._ It's something important, but I don't know what it is._ He closed his eyes and buried his face into his pillow. Whatever. He'd think about it again tomorrow, after Seigaku won the Regionals.

***

Asa scrambled down the road, coughing and wheezing like an old lady as she did so. _Am I late?_ She glanced worriedly up at the sky. There wasn't a cloud in the sky; the sun was shining brightly, casting its warm rays down on the ground. _That checkup took longer than I expected. I didn't think that they'd run so many tests._ She had to pause in her trip to lean a hand against the wall in order to regain her breath.

She glanced at her wrist, panting. _I left home so early I forgot to put on my wristwatch._ Now she had no way of telling what time it was, and she had no idea how to tell time from shadows cast by the sun. She knew only that no shadow meant it was noon, and it wasn't yet noon. _How inconvenient._

"This is the place, isn't it?" There were several buses parked in the parking lot, and a few children grouped around them. _Elementary school students?_ Wasn't this a tournament with only Junior High students? She continued forward and bumped into something soft. "Gomen, gomen!" she squeaked out, leaping backwards.

"Oh, it's you." A familiarly deep voice made it to her ears and she looked up to meet Oshitari's brown eyes. The boy had his smirk present on his face, and was dressed casually. Hyotei must not have had a match, seeing as he wasn't in his jersey. "Aren't you a bit too late if you wanted to see Seigaku's match?" he asked.

Asa blinked in surprise. "Yes… I suppose it is rather late." He started walking, so she fell into step besides him. "Um, Oshitari-kun?" she ventured out. He gave a faint inclination of his head and she continued on. "Who won?"

"Seigaku. Three straight wins. Although, I really don't know why I bothered to come watch in the first place." He had stopped, his hands in the pockets of his jeans as he looked off in the general direction of the tennis courts the tournament had just been held a few hours ago. "I can't believe Miho managed to convince me." He shook his head, sighing lightly. "She said something about me owing her something."

Asa glanced curiously at him. "Well, if you owed her something, does this count as a repayment by you coming to watch this tournament?"

He shrugged nonchalantly, a bored expression on his face. "I suppose so." His expression abruptly changed from one of boredom to one of devilish delight. "Speaking of debts, you owe me one, too."

"Eh? What for?"

"Don't say anything, just come." He grabbed her wrist and proceeded to drag her along to wherever he was planning to go. Even if she struggled, she could tell that she wasn't going anywhere she wanted to go in the near future. His grip was like steel, and he moved with a strong resolve. "We'll treat it like a date, ne?" he asked, turning his head over his shoulder so that he could give her one of his smiles.

She was speechless, and the ability to form intelligent sentences had deserted her altogether. All she could squeak out was "Eh?!" which seemed to amuse him to no end.

"Yes, and if we plan it right, we have the whole afternoon to ourselves."

***

Fuji slung his tennis bag over his shoulder and rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand. That match with Saeki had been fun, but it was exhausting. Leave it to Saeki to try to test out his limits. It was so like his old friend. His smile widened before it vanished. _She didn't come,_ he thought, turning so that he could survey the gathered people. There were so many, but the one he was looking for wasn't there. He sighed, feeling disappointed. _Maybe it's just another doctor's appointment._

Miho was hiding behind a tree, staring at something on the other side. Even with her back facing him, he could hear her giggles as he stepped closer with a curious look etched out on his smiling face. "Oshitari-chan?" he asked, and the girl shot upwards in startled surprise.

"H-hai?" she squeaked, whirling around with a guilty smile on her face. "Is something wrong?"

He raised an eyebrow. This was interesting; it wasn't often that Miho was ruffled like that. To his knowledge, there _never_ was a time when that happened. "Are you alright?" he asked.

She laughed nervously in answer, scooting around him with her hands folded behind her back. "It's nothing! Really!" _Don't you dare look beyond that tree, Fuji Syusuke,_ she threatened with her mind, hoping that he would pick up her unspoken messages.

Unfortunately, if didn't seem like Fuji was a physic of any sorts. "Are you sure? You were acting… strangely. Maybe it's just a girl thing." As he spoke, he chanced a peek around the tree Miho had been using previously. He froze, and Miho gulped when she saw his expression darken impressively, and those blue eyes flash with an unspoken wrath. _Oh dear… Kami-sama, please protect me! _Miho clasped her hands in front of her, squeezing her eyes shut as she prayed fervently for her life.

Her savior came in the form of an innocent Eiji. "Nya, Fujiko! We're leaving! Hoi?" The energetic boy broke off suddenly when the first of Fuji's dangerous aura hit him. "Fuji…" Eiji peeked around the tree as well and promptly fell over. "Aa-chan and Oshitari?! Really? When did this happen? I didn't get to congratulate her, nya!" Fuji turned to face him and he swallowed nervously. "Uh… maybe I'll skip out on the congratulating part, nya," he offered weakly. Straightening up, he frowned lightly. "But still, it's kind of odd, don't you think? Aa-chan spends more time with Fujiko, so you'd think that she'd be with Fujiko-chan, nya?" Miho twitched, while Fuji just walked past him without so much as a glance. That dangerous aura still lingered all around him.

Eiji watched his friend walk off with a slightly worried expression. This was almost instantly replaced with a horribly excited one, though, as he grabbed Miho's arm. "Hurry, hurry, Miho-chan!" he crowed. "We need to hurry! Speed is key, nya!"

"Eh? What do you mean?" Whatever else she could have wanted to say was abruptly cut off with a startled cry as Eiji hurtled forward with Miho in tow. "Where are you going?" she almost screeched, but managed to keep her voice at a reasonable level. Oh, she was proud of herself.

Eiji gave her a look but didn't slow down or release his grip on her. "Where do you think I'm going? I want to see what they do! Don't you?" He gave her a very,_ very_ cute look, complete with a pout and that oh-so-hopeful expression in his eyes.

Miho blinked. Yes, she had wanted to stalk them and see what they were planning, but in the end had decided that giving them some privacy would probably be best. But now, seeing such a cute look on Eiji's face as he begged her to go with him…

She caved in. But not before letting him know that he was indeed very cute, with his current look, of course. "Kawaii!" she squealed, launching herself onto him in a big hug. She didn't notice the redhead's cheeks flush into a brilliant shade of pink, nor did she notice that he stuttered slightly when she let go. "Yosh! Full speed ahead, then! Be wary; no date is safe when the notorious Miho-Eiji pair is on the loose!"

A sound behind them suddenly made both stop. Pivoting to face the direction of the sound, they found themselves face to face with Fuji. "I'll come with you," he said softly.

Miho's surprised expression softened into a smile before Eiji grabbed Fuji's hand. "Awesome! The more the merrier, nya! Now we're ready for action!"

***

_What a problem…_

Asa followed meekly behind Oshitari as they made their way down the busy streets of Tokyo's bustling downtown area. Her head was lowered, blue eyes on the ground as she walked forward. How did she end up doing this again? Of right… he dragged her along because she owed him. What exactly, she had utterly no idea. She had only bumped into him, hadn't she?

_What does one do in one of these situations…?_

"Where would you like to go, Ijuuin-chan?"

"Hm?" She looked up, surprised, noticing that he had stopped and was now staring at her. There was a surprisingly gentle expression in his eyes that she wasn't quite used to seeing. "Me? Um…" _Where do you go when you're with one of the richest people in Tokyo?_

Oshitari must have sensed her uncertainty to some level, because he offered a low laugh. "Anywhere's fine."

_Easy for you to say,_ she sighed, drooping momentarily. "How about here?" She gestured to the first thing that caught her eye, which happened to be an arcade with its flashing lights. He looked faintly amused with her choice before ushering her inside. Her eyes brightened when her gaze fell on al the available games. "They added many new games since I was here last," she noted, fingering in her pocket for change. Hopefully, she'd have enough change to play a few of them.

Oshitari chuckled lightly, letting his eyes roam around as well. He hadn't been in an arcade in a while, either. Normally, when Miho invited him to come along to these things, he refused in order to stay home and read a book. There was nothing that could be compared to a wonderfully written novel, in his opinion. "Saa, it looks like fun," he offered, pulling out some money from his pocket and feeding into the first gaming machine that seemed interesting to him. "It's two-player, so you can play, too," he said, nodding to the screen, "I paid for you."

"You didn't have to, you know," Asa grumbled, but she went to stand next to him all the same, listening intently as he explained the instructions.

"Don't lose too early, then," he prompted, smirking.

She pouted, frowning at the screen. "I won't!"

***

Miho heaved a sigh as she scurried down the street. Following her brother and Asa was harder than she had originally thought. Eiji and Fuji tagged obediently behind her like little ducklings until Eiji paused, panting. "I'm hungry!" he whined. Fuji's dark expression lightened momentarily as he laughed softly, and Miho pivoted to face them, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"There's a burger shop a bit further. We can get something there," she said, pointing over her shoulder. At their quiet responses, she cocked her head to the side and turned around. "Oh, it's Nii-san and Asa-chan," she murmured, before chancing a glance back at her companions. "Do you two still want to go?"

"We'll go," Fuji said firmly as he stepped forward. Eiji and Miho exchanged worried looks before falling into step behind him.

An overly cheerful lady greeted them behind the counter. "Welcome! How may I help you?" she asked brightly. They puzzled over their choices for a while before placing an order, which the three-some then took to a table by the window. Miho attempted to engage the two boys in cheerful conversation, but the only one who seemed to be doing the talking was her, so she eventually stopped. Maybe it was a bad idea, this whole stalking thing.

Fuji's eyes were focused on something in the window's reflection as he sipped from his soda. Eiji munched away on his burger without a care in the world, although they could tell the acrobat was tense. The whole atmosphere of the shop was tense, it seemed. It was like the world was holding its breath and waiting for the right moment to let it out.

"Ne, Oshitari-kun?" Miho cocked her head to the side as the conversation of the two people she had decided to trail entered her ears. "Are you planning on telling me what I owed you?"

"No. I'm pretty sure you can figure it out on your own."

"I see." There was a drawn-out pause before she spoke again. "Anyways, thanks for today. It was really nice of you to treat me to all of these things." There was a nervous chuckle. "Maa… this wouldn't have happened if I wasn't late to the tournament. And I promised Fuji-kun and Eiji-kun I'd try to make it…"

"Many good things come out of bad things, don't they? Why were you late in the first place?"

"Doctor's appointment," Asa muttered, hands tightening momentarily on her cup, her smile dropping. "But still," she added hastily, smile returning as she looked up, "thanks for today."

Oshitari regarded her with a very serious expression as he rolled his straw in between his fingers. She watched him curiously, as did the other three observers by the window. "Say, do you mind if I do something?" She shook her head, although her expression asked him what exactly he wanted to do. He didn't give her an answer straight away, instead simply pushing his tray to one side while he thought. _The quicker the better,_ he finally decided. His gaze flickered to the trio at the window, and he allowed a faintly satisfied smirk to cross his features as he took into account Fuji's tense back. Asa didn't know they had been followed, or, if she did, she had kept very quiet about it. Fuji continued to frown into the glass as he drank his soda. While neither said a single word, both boys knew that the other was watching them._ I should eliminate them as they come, or let them get high up in the sky and then watch them fall and shatter into a hundred pieces on the ground,_ he thought firmly, finally tearing his gaze away from the other prodigy.

"It's getting late," Asa piped up as she started to stand up. "Thanks again for today--?" She never got to finish her sentence, as her companion had stood, grabbing her wrist with one hand and pulling her towards him in a fluid movement as he did so. With a confident smirk on his face, he planted a kiss squarely on her lips, watching for a reaction out of the corner of his eyes. "I'll get rid of any rival as I see fit," he fairly crooned into her ear.

Miho and Eiji both shivered. They could almost taste doom in the air as Fuji stopped drinking his soda. The boy stood, picked up his tray, and moved over to the trash can, throwing away his leftovers. When he headed back to his seat, he stopped besides Oshitari, who had by this time released the girl from his grasp. "Saa, Oshitari," he said coldly. The entire shop was deathly silent as blue eyes met brown. "Do you want to get rid of me that badly?"

Oshitari brushed a few stray bangs of hair away from his glasses. "Not really," he countered calmly. "I only wish to see you break. It will be a sight to see, ne? The breaking of Seigauk's tensai…" There was a gleam from the lens of his glasses as he said the last two words.

"…Fuji Syusuke."

* * *

A/N: Hmmm... I suppose the beginning parts were a bit hurried. Sorry about that. And it has also been brought to my attention that the last match of the Rokkaku vs. Seigaku tournament took two days to complete. But for the sake of this chapter, let's assume that it ended in one day... ^^;

And... uh... sorry, Fuji. It's a pity when you're not a physic, isn't it? (Although... he acts like one sometimes...)

Reviews are love. Thank you for those who reviewed! You don't know how happy it makes me when I see the thoughts of my readers. ^^


	17. Chapter 16

**_Chapter 16_**

Eiji was chattering brightly in class as they waited for the teacher to come in and start the class. School was almost coming to an end, and Ryuzaki-sensei had dropped a few hints about a training session with several other schools. It went without saying that the regulars were excited about this. Eiji's current topic was the training session. "I wonder who else will be there, nya?" he asked excitedly, his indigo eyes glowing.

Fuji offered a soft smile. "Most of the really strong players will be there, ne?" he answered with a question of his own. "Maa… I want to play against so many people!" He let out a happy sigh, and planted his chin in his hands. These past few days Fuji had seemed happy enough, although underneath his content façade he was a churning, scheming mess. Oh… Oshitari was going to pay. He would make sure of it. Eiji laughed at his friend's comment and would have said something else, except the door to the classroom flew open. Thinking that it was the teacher, the two boys instantly sat up straight in their seats until they realized that it was simply Miho who had popped into there classroom.

Eiji already bright expression brightened up some more. "Hoi, hoi, Miho-chan!" he called happily, waving to the girl. "What are you doing here, nya?" he asked cheerfully, bouncing up to the doorway. Fuji followed at a slower pace.

Miho glanced around the classroom with a worried expression on her face. "Have you two seen Asa-chan?" she asked. "I've been trying to find her for a while now… did you walk with her today, Fuji-kun?"

"Ah… I did… wait a minute; did you use 'kun'?" Fuji looked curiously at Miho's face, but the girl was already storming out of the classroom and into the hall, muttering darkly under her breath. Fuji and Eiji exchanged amused glances as Miho stomped down the halls, saying things like 'that idiot!' and 'honestly, where could you possibly be in this school?' Fuji chuckled lightly as the two boys walked down the hallways. "I never knew Seigaku was so large that it would become almost impossible to find a single person," he said lightly. Eiji nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

By now they had made it to the bottom of the stairs that led to the door to the roof. A trio of freshmen girls was clustered at the base of the stairs, whispering nervously among themselves. Miho gave them a curious glance, and Fuji stepped forward. "What are you standing here for?" he asked kindly. "Classes start soon, ne?"

They glanced up from their whispers. "Ah… senpai-tachi!" one of them exclaimed. "It probably doesn't mean much to senpai-tachi… but one of our friends stormed up to the roof recently. She was threatening some things, and we were worried and were currently wondering how we should all get her back to class."

"Oh…" Miho muttered. "Did anyone else come along?"

The freshman nodded. "Hai. Another senpai…"

Eiji nudged his friends. "It might be Aa-chan, nya!" he hissed, looking excited again. The words had scarcely left his mouth before they realized that Miho was already bounding up the stairs. "Miho-chan!" they called after her as she reached up for the handle.

Miho yanked on the piece of metal with a vengeance, and the door swung outwards with a bang. Cold rain, aided by a strong wind, lashed at her face as she did so.

"Aa-chan…?"

***

Asa's favorite place in the whole area that Seishen Academy was located on was the roof. On sunny days it was the best place to sit and relax with her bento and a book (preferably not Chemistry or anything else academically related), as it was easily one of the warmest and peaceful places on the whole complex. This morning, however, it wasn't sunny and it definitely wasn't peaceful.

_It looks like I stumbled on a freshman,_ she noted as she shut the door behind her, narrowing her eyes slightly as the wind lashed droplets of water into them. _And in the middle of a rant of some sort, no less…_ The freshman had whirled around to glare at her upon her entrance onto the roof, and although she couldn't quite tell which were tears and which were rain drops, somehow she just got the feeling that her underclassman was crying.

"Gomen… did I disturb you?" she asked sweetly. The wind tore hungrily at her words as they left her mouth, and she reached up with one hand in a vain attempt to still her bangs, as they were flying into her eyes and when coupled with the rain, it was rather annoying.

Not to mention somewhat itchy…

"Eh… iie, senpai. I was just…" The other girl looked flustered, and glanced at her shoes. Asa wondered how long she had been out here; it was easily seen that she was soaked to the skin.

"You and I aren't much different, then, are we, if we both choose this place when there is such weather outside, ne?" she asked, crossing from the doorway to the mesh fence. She leaned against it, feeling the cold metal against her hand and watching the raindrops form rivers of water on her arm. "If you wanted to get something off your chest, then by all means, don't let me interrupt you," she offered, turning and giving the younger girl a smile. Her fingers laced into the openings of the fence as she relaxed her body against the support.

"Senpai will think that I'm stupid… yelling about random things in the middle of a rainstorm…"

Asa sighed, giving a little tip of her head to the side. "Maa… you beat me to it, then," she said with mock dejection.

The other girl looked surprised at her statement, and so could only say dumbly, "Excuse me, Senpai…?"

"I wanted to do that… that's why I came up here in the first place. And what were you yelling about?"

The younger girl was taken aback by her bluntness, and so took her time answering. "Well…" she muttered, before taking a big breath. "It's stupid. I don't see why I have to get it." She shivered, and Asa had a feeling it wasn't from the cold. "Everyone will think I'm a freak or something if they know about this secret of mine, and nobody wants to be friends with a freak. But it feels so weird… trying to pretend to be something I'm not around the people who are supposed to be my friends." She trailed off, and glanced up tentatively at the older girl. "And Senpai?" she ventured hesitantly "What were you up here for?"

Asa leaned comfortably against the fencing, closing her eyes as she did so. "Same thing, I suppose," she said breezily. "Only, in my case, it's more like my secret is out there for everyone to see." She chuckled dryly. "Or, let me rephrase that. It's out there for everyone to see if they take the time to. Yes… that's it."

She rubbed the back of her head with a hand and frowned slightly, opening her eyes. "Every time I convince myself that I will show all the people I care about the real me, even if only for a few minutes, I chicken out and don't do it. I just pull out another guise. No matter where I turn, it seems all I'm doing is lying to everyone." She sighed, turning her head so that her other cheek could feel the rain against it. "Maybe I'm afraid that I'll get hurt if I let all of my masks go. I don't like it when people get too close to me. We both end up hurt someway or another."

She sighed again and gave a faint grumble under her breath. "It was fine until I came to Tokyo, too… Tokyo guys are so persistent and stubborn." A ghost of a smile was on her face before she wiped it away and pushed off the fencing. "I won't ask what your secret is, and I won't bore you with my own endless ramblings. It must be boring, ne, listening to my self-pity and reflection sessions? Or would you call it soul searching?"

The freshman shook her head. "Iie… senpai sounds a lot like myself."

Asa frowned. "Really? I shouldn't be sounding like you."

"No…! That's not what I meant… I mean…"

The older girl shook her head. "I think I know what you mean, but still, you really shouldn't be anything like me." She stared into the empty space in front of her. "Oblivion… it is my current mask's main strength. By being oblivious, maybe some people will give up trying to establish any kind of close relationship or friendship. If you don't have ties that are too incredibly strong, it won't matter that much if the thing you were weakly attached to is destroyed."

_But that mask failed._

"Then… there's a mask where I pretend to be so very much stronger than I really am, put on whenever I'm in the hospitals or somewhere where I feel insecure. When the doctor's ask 'Does it hurt?' there really isn't much you can do to truly answer that question. The most perhaps is to say that it does, and then take the painkiller that they give you. But these days, none of them seem to be that effective anymore."

_I guess that's what I get for taking too many medications._

"The pain just goes on and on, and then you feel so tired. Those who weren't deterred by the oblivious state you tried to put up and maintain start noticing, and they start to worry. And when you only wish to be by yourself, alone, and they try to help you… you end up hurting them by pushing them away or something of the like, even if it's for their own good and you're trying to teach them something."

_I'm sorry, Fuji-kun._

"Sometimes I just want to curl up in a dark corner and just forget the world. Maybe if I do that, everything that hurts will go away."

"Does Senpai say that she wishes to die, but doesn't because she will end up hurting all of the people she knows?"

Asa laughed softly. "Ah… I wish. The truth is… I am a coward. If not for them, then it's for myself that I stay."

_I want to stay here, because life is truly wonderful at times. I don't want to say 'good-bye' to anything._

_I don't want to say 'sayonara,' ever._

"I am a selfish brat. A broken, selfish brat."

Her hands clenched into fists at her side. There; she had said all that she had ever wanted to say. It was a pity that she had no paper and pencil to record it and then stick on her wall for future reference.

"So you see, don't you? You shouldn't be sounding like me."

Her chest ached. It felt like her heart was suddenly jumping way harder than it should be as it pounded against her ribcage. Dimly, she could hear the confused freshman asking her if she was alright, though she didn't answer the other. _I should probably get out of the rain, shouldn't I? It's not good to get sick…_

She let out a soft sigh and sat down on the bench. It was really quiet… even though the rain still pounded down. The heavens were crying. What for, she wondered?

"Idiot," someone muttered in her ear, and she was pulled off of the bench into something warmer. "You should have said all that sooner."

_Should I have?_ The pain escalated and she concentrated on her breathing, slow and labored as it was. Instinctively, she snuggled closer to the unknown source of warmth that was surrounding her. She felt safe; it was such a wonderful feeling.

She let out a happy little sigh and let her world black out.

***

The hospital was not a place that Fuji particularly liked to be. His gaze bordered suspicious when he, Eiji, Miho, and Oshitari (the last being forcibly dragged along by his sister) stepped into the lobby. School had ended, and because of the weather, after school tennis practice had been cancelled. Fuji seized the chance to drag along his friends to the hospital, and they had met Oshitari at the gate, as it seemed that even Hyotei had been rained out of their afternoon practices. Although, truth be told, Fuji would rather that Oshitari played in the rain and then slip and hurt himself. "We're here to see Ijuuin-chan," Fuji said to the nurse who manned the front desk, offering her a sweet and innocent smile.

The nurse gave him her own smile as she looked up from the papers before her, before pointing to the door on the left side of the lobby. "She's in room 207. Go through that door, and take the stairs to the second floor. It's the fourth door to your left." He thanked her and ushered his companions through the doorway, the nurse looking after them as the door swung gently shut. "Such sweet children," she sighed happily before returning to her paperwork.

"Hoi, hoi!" Eiji burst through the door to room 207 with a brilliant smile upon his face. "Guess who came to visit, Aa-chan!" he said brightly. Miho tugged on his arm to get him to quiet down, but the boy was too excited that he was only able to do so for a few moments. "We were so worried about you, nya! You're feeling better now, right?" He gave the girl on the bed a scrutinizing glance before plopping himself down on a chair besides the table at its side.

"Ah… much better. Thank you very much, Eiji-kun." Asides from being a little pale and looking rather tired, Asa looked quite healthy. "Thanks for visiting, minna-san." She gave them a smile, although it looked rather sad in their eyes, almost remorseful.

The walls of her room were white, and above the bed was a painting of water lilies to offer some color in the otherwise plain room. A set of French doors opened out onto a small balcony, overlooking the hospital garden. It was good sometimes to have a room with a window to the interior of the hospital complex. On the table was a vase, empty currently, but Miho took care of that by putting in a small bouquet of azaleas. "We would have come sooner," Miho apologized, "except we had trouble deciding what kind of flowers we wanted to get." 'We' being Eiji and Miho who had trouble deciding the flowers.

Oshitari pushed his glasses higher up the bridge of his nose. "They argue like a married couple," he muttered drily.

"Nii-san!"

Fuji chuckled lightly at brother and sister before he frowned, leaning a shoulder against the wall, his arms folded over his chest. "An explanation, please," he said bluntly. The rest of the people in the hospital room stared at him, not comprehending what he was asking. "I'd like to clear up a few things with you, Aa-chan, about what you said on the roof. In the rain. When you were being stupid and totally inconsiderate about your health."

She made a face at him when he attacked her about being inconsiderate about her health, but then collected her composure about her. "Why?" she asked shortly, staring up at him from her spot on the bed. "How much did you hear?"

"Enough to become worried and faintly disturbed."

She didn't answer immediately, and as Fuji waited, Oshitari stepped forward, taking off his glasses. "Allow me to explain, then, would you, Ijuuin-chan?" he asked rather formally. A small nod and he set his glasses on the table. "Allow me to ask one thing first, though, Fuji. You haven't broken yet, have you?"

Fuji gave him a puzzled look. "Broken?" he repeated. "No, I'm rather whole, thank you."

Oshitari shook his head. "Is that so? Looks like we failed, ne, Ijuuin-chan?" Fuji bristled at the remark and gave the other boy an angry glare. Oshitari simply motioned for Eiji to get off the chair he had occupied until jus recently, and Fuji was led to it and made to sit down. "Hear me out. There is actually a logical explanation for everything," he said, slowly and seriously, as if talking to a small child and not to a boy his own age.

"She never wanted you to like her. She never wanted _anyone_ to like her that way."

***

_'Are you alright? You've been missing rather easy shots and seem preoccupied as of late.' Oshitari paused the tennis lesson and glanced curiously over at his pupil. The girl's grip on the racket was slipping, he noticed, and she spaced out when she was supposed to be watching the ball. "Get a drink," he offered, motioning to the bench. "Is something bothering you?"_

_'A lot of things are bothering me,' Asa grumbled, sitting down on the bench and cradling her water bottle between her hands. Her racket sat on her lap and she fiddled with the strings for a moment. She chanced a glance at the boy sitting besides her and heaved a sigh, pondering silently as she did so. 'I suppose the gist of my problem is you and Fuji-kun.'_

_Oshitari raised an eyebrow curiously as he was mentioned. 'Oh?' he asked, the corner of his lip quirking upwards into a smirk. 'And how do I help contribute to your problems?'_

_'You seem to be always egging Fuji-kun when you're trying to vex him.' Oshitari gave a small shake of his head; wasn't that basically the explanation of vexing in the first place? 'And by doing so, Fuji-kun just keeps digging a hole around himself. It will get to a point where he won't be able to get himself out of it one day if it keeps going on like this.'_

_'And your point is…?'_

_Asa would never know what made her spill out all of her troubles in the end to the Hyotei genius. Maybe it was his patience and the calm air he held around him. Or perhaps it was the look in his eyes, the one that said that she could say anything and he wouldn't say it to anyone else. Whatever the reason, she said it all. The condition of her heart, the surgery, her relationships with friends, everything was poured out._

_She felt like an idiot when she had finished, having rambled for so long._

_'You want Fuji to find another girl?' Oshitari asked, fingering his own water bottle as he spoke._

_'Yeah. Another girl won't hold him down like I would. Truth be told, I never wanted his affection in the first place. While I **am** touched because he is exceptionally kind to me, I just feel like he should give up and find someone else.' Asa sighed moodily._ _'Mattaku,' she grumbled, 'Tokyo guys are so stubborn.'_

_He chuckled at her comment. 'Indeed, they are, and the guys at Seigaku are the most stubborn of them all.' Everyone on a tennis team knew the way each and every one of the Seigaku regulars were incredibly persistent. It made them strong opponents indeed. "So, what are you going to do about it?' he asked, genuinely curious to see how she wanted to go about solving her problems with a particularly stubborn Fuji._

_'Well… I was hoping you could help me a bit with that.'_

***

"It actually took us a while to come up with that Rokkaku plan, although honestly, we didn't expect her to be late from her doctor's appointment," Oshitari said, giving a few faint nods of his head.

Miho glanced from brother to friend. "So that scene at the burger shop… it was fake?"

"Hai. It was a fake; a rather genius work of fabrication if I should say so myself." Their gazes snapped over to Asa, and Miho made a face at her. Why did she sound so much like Fuji at that moment? "Besides, Fuji-kun has plenty of fans who would _die_ for the chance to be with him. Wouldn't it be better to be with someone that actually likes your affection, then to be with someone that doesn't quite?"

Fuji took all this in silently, and then laughed, much to Asa's and Oshitari's annoyance. "Maa… I've been toyed with," he said, snickering as he did so. "Those were the funny feelings I've been getting on and off these past few months, ne?" He stopped laughing and adopted a more serious expression. "But, honestly, Aa-chan… wouldn't it have been better if you just went out and said all that? And here I was worrying for nothing…"

He gave another soft chuckle before turning to Oshitari. "I can see why you wanted me to break, now," he said softly, "Although I would have preferred it if you had gone by a different approach."

"You're too stubborn for your own good. That was the most direct way we could do it," Oshitari retorted.

"Oh? Perhaps you're right…" Fuji trailed off and looked thoughtful. "But I have logical reasons of my own when I ask myself why I like Aa-chan," he said, sweetly and seriously. "Aa-chan's real smiles are rare, but they are so much sweeter then her fake ones, even though they always seem to be somewhat sad." Here, Eiji and Miho glanced at each other with knowing looks in their eyes. It was almost like Fuji was talking about himself. "But… it's kind of sad when she doesn't show it to anyone, or only shows it rarely. That's why I want to be with her, because I want to see when she smiles and is genuinely happy."

He fell silent, and then said softly, "If I can't help her take some of the pain away, then I'd still try to help by being besides her. It's better than being alone, ne?" He glanced up at the rest of them before returning his gaze to his folded hands in his lap.

"Now's the perfect time to go 'chu'!" Eiji chided. Fuji almost toppled off of his chair at his friend's volume and the suddenness of his voice.

"Go 'chu'?" he echoed, faintly ruffled. "I'm not a train, Eiji."

Eiji shook his head rapidly from side to side. "That's 'choo', not 'chu'," he explained patiently.

"There's a difference?"

Eiji gave him an impatient look and then proceeded to give a demonstration with his hands. His middle finger and his thumb connected until they formed a sort of head, and then he brought them together. "This 'chu', Fujiko!" he explained.

Fuji's eyes opened with a devilish glint in them. He understood now, but decided to feign ignorance. He wanted to test out something first. "I'm not quite sure I follow you, Eiji," he said in a sugar-coated voice. Eiji gulped nervously, but remained calm. He was quite proud of himself. "Would you like to show me exactly what this 'chu' is?"

"Eh?! On Fujiko?!" Eiji looked extremely flushed and embarrassed, his face looking impressively like a tomato.

Fuji shook his head, smiling. "No, no, no… not on me," he said lightly. "Show me on someone else." He gave a pointed glance at Miho, but it could have been interpreted as being Oshitari, since the other boy was standing right besides his sister. Eiji's face got even redder and he stuttered all the harder.

Oshitari smirked in an almost demonic manner, picking up on the other prodigy's antics. "Yes, show us this 'chu' of yours, Kikumaru," he drawled. "Although you'd best do it on Miho, because if you do it on Ijuuin-chan Fuji might be liable of hurting you."

"Uh…"

"Saa… Eiji," Fuji teased, "you wouldn't be so cruel as to leave your dear best friend in the dark, would you?" Behind the two prodigies, Asa and Miho exchanged glances that were a mix of curiosity and nervousness.

"Fine!" Eiji finally exploded, looking sulky. "I'll show you!" And, so saying, he spun around and grasped Miho by the shoulders. The girl's eyes widened in surprise as Eiji covered her mouth with his own. Oshitari and Fuji almost lost their cools, snickering and trying to mask their snickers into coughs.

They failed.

"Thank you, Eiji!" Fuji said brightly. "Now I know exactly what this 'chu' of yours is! You are really good at demonstrations." The honey-haired tensai applauded his friend as Eiji pulled away from a blushing Miho.

Asa shook her head, muttering under her breath. She should have known something like that would happen. The bed she was sitting on shifted slightly as Fuji leaned over to her. "Saa… is it our turn, then?" he asked amiably. She shook her head furiously, disagreeing. "If it makes you feel better, we could turn off the lights." Fuji continued to tease, and Asa continued to refuse. Oshitari gave Miho a small nod, and his sister flipped the light switch. The hospital room was plunged into darkness, save for the small amount of light that entered through the windows in the French door, as it was covered with a white curtain.

"Feel better, now?" Fuji asked softly, his breath against Asa's ear. Asa contemplated pushing him off his chair and turning the lights back on, even if it meant disobeying the doctor's orders and getting out of bed (she had a rather pushy doctor...). She did _not_ like the idea of Fuji and the dark.

Not in the least.

He almost seemed to read her mind, because she felt his lips on hers in the next moment. "Too late," he said gently when he pulled away one kiss later. "One day, I hope to go deeper," he teased. She glared in his general direction before they heard a crash.

"Eiji-kun! Did you just knock over the flowers?" Miho's exasperated voice suddenly popped out of the dark. There followed a mumbling from Oshitari, and then Eiji's little whine.

"I missed, I missed! Oh, the horror!"

Asa coughed softly. "Please turn the lights back on, Fuji-kun." She didn't want to even begin thinking about what Eiji missed.

"Call my name and I'll do it."

"Eh? But it was Fuji-kun… wasn't it?"

Fuji almost gave his own exasperated sigh. "Not that name, Aa-chan. Call my given name."

"Absolutely not."

"Then the lights stay off."

There was a moment of silence before a sigh of defeat came to Fuji's keen ears. "Fine," Asa grumbled. "Please turn on the lights… Fu—I mean Syu—" _I can't do this,_ she wailed inwardly. But Fuji was waiting, and he was physically blocking the only way off the bed, so she had to do it.

"Syusuke," she whispered.

"Louder."

_He sounds like a king,_ she grumbled to herself. "Please turn the lights back on, Syusuke," she said louder.

Why was she not in the least bit surprised when he simply snuggled closer to her and made absolutely no move to turn the lights back on? In the other corner of the room, seated calmly in a chair, Oshitari snickered to himself. Ah… another job well done. Killing two birds with one stone gave such a satisfying feeling. Not only that, but this would make vexing Fuji so much more fun and enjoyable.

Tokyo guys truly were very stubborn. And he was quite proud to say that he was one of those guys.

* * *

A/N: Rather un-climatic, isn't it? And the sad thing is... this took me three times to write. I'm pathetic.

And the last part with the names just cracked me up. Another token of my patheticness.

Please read and review! They're loved.

Happy belated bnirthday, Fuji! ^__^


	18. Chapter 17

**_Chapter 17_**

Asa sneezed and stared miserably at the ceiling above her head. She was in her house, lying in her bed under a massive mountain of blankets. And she was still freezing. _I hate being sick,_ she thought miserably, ducking down under the covers, one hand fluttering out to grab a tissue as she did so. _I especially hate getting fevers._ She pushed herself up and blew her nose. The tip was already red and tender from the amount of times she had had to repeat that action. _Stupid illness, _she grumbled to herself and snuggled gloomily back into her pillows.

She had been released from the hospital two days ago with a stern warning from her doctor about staying in the rain. Fuji had chided her again about the hazards of staying in unfriendly weather, and her parents had given her a stern lecture. All this she tried to keep in mind, but the other day it had rained and she didn't have an umbrella. Fuji had had some thing or another to stay after school (he had never elaborated, and she had never thought to ask him), Eiji had to go with him, and Miho had one of those annual checkups at the doctor's to go to so she had been excused the period before. So she had decided to run all the way home and take her chances with getting sick.

So here she was now, lying in bed, sick with a fever. A rather high fever, as well. She'd have to remember never to run in the rain again. Why did it seem like other people could run in the rain but as soon as she did it she'd get so miserably ill? It wasn't fair.

She sulked and burrowed deeper into her covers only to hear her cell phone ring. The whole house was silent besides the ringing of her phone, and she remembered that tonight was the night where Seishen Academy was performing all of their plays. The rest of her family had left to go watch them, and she was home sleeping.

Supposedly, she should be sleeping, except she wasn't, since she was reaching out to answer her phone.

"Moshimoshi?" she rasped into the small device when she managed to open it after fumbling around with it for a few moments. "This is Ijuuin Asa speaking. Can I help you?"

"Aa-chan! What happened to you? You don't sound very good."

"I don't feel that good either," she grumbled, answering the boy on the other side of the line. Fuji gave a little tsking sound, and she imagined him shaking his head. "Is something the matter?" she asked, although she had a pretty good idea of what he was calling her for.

"Ah… it's just that I worried when I didn't see you seated in the center seat of the first row when we were performing," Fuji teased. "Are you sick? Fever? You could have waited for me; I had an umbrella and you wouldn't have gotten to this stage you are in now." His voice had a reproachful hint in it and she glowered at the wall. She shivered and slid back into her warm nest, cradling the phone gently between her ear and the pillow.

"Even if I was there, I couldn't possibly be in the center seat of the first row," she said slowly.

"Yeah… I suppose you're right," Fuji sighed lightly before chuckling softly. "I'll visit you tomorrow! Don't plan anything, ok?" He hung up before she could say anything, and she was left to listen to the steady beeping sound that signified that she was no longer connected to anyone.

_Really now,_ she thought, flipping the phone shut and slipping it back onto her nightstand before wrapping herself more snuggly in her blankets. _Don't plan anything, eh? I couldn't plan to do anything if I'm sick, now, could I?_ But still, she'd look forward to his visit tomorrow, even if it was a bit stubborn.

_I just hope he doesn't get sick himself when he does come._

***

The next morning Fuji arrived at the Ijuuin doorstep at ten o'clock sharp. He frowned slightly as he stared at the door. Didn't she know it was stupid to stay out in the elements for too long? He had thought she had learned her lesson the last time. If she didn't get better in the next two days she wouldn't be able to go with them to the training camp (them being the Seigaku regulars). "Silly Aa-chan," he said with a shake of his head, reaching up and rapping smartly on the door.

It was opened a few minutes later by a sleepy looking Asa, who simply gave him a small nod in greeting. He shook his head once again, ushering her back into the house and shutting the front door after him. "See? This is why you don't run in the rain. You wait for someone with an umbrella." He put a special emphasis on the word 'someone,' giving her a hard look as he did so.

"Hai, hai," she mumbled, and he sighed. Was she even paying attention?

"Go to bed. Shoo, shoo," he coaxed, pushing her gently up the stairs. She refused to budge, instead simply latching herself comfortably on him, burying her head in his chest. Her forehead was warm, but it wasn't too incredibly hot. Her fever must have gone down some. He was glad. "Have it your way, then," he said amiably, maneuvering himself to the living room. "Are your parents home? Ah… good morning, Ijuuin-san." He greeted her father, and the older male looked up from the paper he was reading to wink at him.

"Good morning, Fuji-kun. Aa-chan isn't being any trouble, is she?" A twinkle of mischief was in his eyes, and Asa shifted slightly to glare at him.

"I'm not being any trouble," she retorted, although the effect she had wanted to achieve was not obtained due to her raspy voice.

"Did I say anything?" he asked innocently. He stood, waving the two of them to sit down on the couch. "I'll make some tea; it's one of the only things involving food that I can do. Aa-chan, make sure you get to sleep early tonight and don't keep Fuji-kun over too late. I'll be working late at the lab tonight."

"I'll make the tea," Asa offered, starting for the kitchen only to be waved backwards by her father.

"You have a guest over. Be a good hostess and entertain your guest," he chided and vanished into the kitchen. The tea he brought out a few minutes later certainly looked safe enough, although that mischievous look he gave her made her worry about what he could have possibly put into it, fever or not. "You had better be in bed and asleep by the time I get back," he warned before leaving.

Fuji picked up his teacup and took a sip of the tea. "He certainly is a very caring father," he remarked sweetly. "Sometimes I wonder if my father would be like that if he wasn't working out of the country."

She frowned, picking up her own teacup and enjoying the feeling of the steam curling softly on her cheeks. "I'm sure he would. After all, your parents will always love you, no matter how far they are from you. Don't you think so?" She glanced at him and he chuckled softly, nodding.

"You're right. I shouldn't have even asked, ne?" He laughed at himself, setting the cup back on the table. "Your father makes wonderful tea. I wonder why he said that he could only make tea…"

Asa grimaced. "You haven't eaten his lunches. They taste like he's out to poison the whole world," she mumbled, staring into the depths of the golden liquid. "But Otou-san's tea is the best. I remember I used to love being sick when I was a little kid because that was the only time he'd make me tea." She grinned, and then frowned slightly when Fuji gave her an odd look. "I was a little girl at that time! I'm entitled to these things!" she defended herself.

"I never said you weren't entitled to it."

"You looked like it." Asa glowered into her tea before setting it on the table and leaning back on the couch. "But really, I really did like getting sick when I was little. Otou-san would take the day off from work regardless of what he was doing and spend the day with me. It made me feel special." She gave him a soft smile. "Usually I just spent the day by myself, since it was only Otou-san and me. We used to have a maid, but apparently Otou-san has a special way of organizing his rooms that the maid couldn't get, so eventually he stopped hiring one."

"Doesn't that get lonely sometimes?" Fuji asked thoughtfully. She shrugged, and there was silence before he spoke again. "So… do I count as a good replacement for your father?"

"Eh?!"

"You said that whenever you were sick your father used to take the day off and spend it with you," Fuji explained patiently. "This time he went to work, and I'm spending the day with you (_or a part of it, at least,_ he quietly corrected himself in his mind). So I'm asking this: do I make a good replacement for him?"

"Ah…" She fumbled for words, feeling uncomfortable, and not just from her fever. She would never truly get used to his serious gaze. His blue eyes seemed to have the ability to bore two holes straight into her.

He looked faintly dejected with her lack of answer. "Naruhodo… I guess I'm not that good of a replacement, ne?"

She grabbed his sleeve. "I didn't mean that! You're a good replacement!" _What am I saying? I sound like an idiot! I sound like Fuji-kun is simply an item!_ "I mean… uh… how do I say this?" She fumbled with her thoughts before she was pulled towards the other end of the couch, where Fuji sat.

"I'm glad," he murmured, leaning his cheek against the top of her head. And their conversation was thus ended. For the rest of the afternoon Fuji amused both him and Asa with an assortment of random games. "Let's play this!" he said brightly, having unearthed a copy of monopoly.

"Ah… sure…" Asa settled herself on the floor opposite of Fuji as he set up the board game. "Ne, Fuji-kun, don't you get bored of doing this?" she asked, leaning her chin on her folded hands. "I mean, I'm really glad you came and all that… but I really don't want to be a burden."

"Saa, saa… Aa-chan isn't a burden," Fuji said brightly. "Besides, it's fun to just relax a bit with friends. Don't you think so?" Asa looked uncertain for a few moments before returning her attention back on the game.

"Ah… you owe me money." She pointed to the space where his piece had landed and Fuji adopted a look of mock remorse on his face as he paid her the rent. "I suppose you're right, when you say it's fun to relax with friends."

"Of course I'm right," Fuji retorted, giving her an impish smile. "Get better in two days, ne, Aa-chan?" he asked, handing her the dice. "That way, you can come to training camp with us."

"Isn't training camp only with the tennis players?"

Fuji chuckled. "Sensei told us that it would only be us and the freshmen… Hyotei will be there, too. She's afraid the freshmen will have too much work catering for all of us. You'll come, won't you?"

"I see how it is… if I get better I will." She looked down at the board after she had rolled the dice and blinked in confusion. Where was her piece? Fuji pointed to the jail area with a mischievous glint in his eyes. _I could have sworn it was on the other side of the board just a few seconds ago,_ she thought, frowning at her piece where it sat innocently in jail. _So how come it moved so far…?_

"Fuji-kun! That's cheating!"

"I call it retaliation for doubting me. And besides, you're supposed to call me Syusuke." He smirked triumphantly and she was reduced to glaring at him before she coughed. "Drink tea, Aa-chan. You'll get better faster; you said so yourself."

She accepted the cup of tea although she still glared at him. Since when had she said that the tea helped her get better faster? To the extent of her knowledge, she had only mentioned that she enjoyed drinking it when she was sick. "Saa… don't frown so much. You'll get wrinkles like Tezuka will be prone to when he gets older."

In the Tezuka household, said boy sneezed as he was doing his math homework. He paused in his work, a puzzled expression on his face. Was he ill? Perhaps he should take some medication to prevent it from getting worse…

Asa sipped her tea moodily. "I wouldn't glare so much if you didn't tease so much," she retorted. Fuji simply cocked his head to the side, his everlasting smile on his face. When they packed up the game (Fuji decided that he had to go when his mother called his cell phone, and Asa didn't want to play anymore since Fuji looked like he had devised many more ways to cheat), Asa saw him to the door.

"Get a lot of sleep," Fuji said sternly, wagging his finger in front of her face. "Get better soon so you can come to our training session, ne?" He gave her a one-armed hug and left the house, waving cheerfully behind him as he did so. "Don't stay in the doorway too long; you'll get chilled from the wind!" he lectured.

"Ah… I understand. Thanks for coming over today!" _Thanks for coming, Syusuke._

He nodded and turned out onto the road, and Asa shut the front door. Though he insisted, and she sincerely tried her hardest, she couldn't ever being herself to say his given name after that one time. She could only call him that in her thoughts. Childish as it may seem, she was afraid it would lose its certain… special… quality if she called him Syusuke out loud too much.

"Alright!" she said, adopting a serious manner. "I'll work extra hard to get better in two days!" Truth be told, she was curious to see how a training camp with the Seigaku tennis club was like. Somehow, she didn't think it would be like any other teams' sessions.

"Curiosity killed the cat, right?" she mused, looking thoughtful. "But satisfaction brought him back." Seika mewed indignantly at her feet when she mentioned 'cat' and 'killed' in the same sentence, and she looked down in surprise. "Ah… I'm sorry, Seika," she said sheepishly. If cats could huff, Seika would have done so.

***

"Good morning!" Eiji was bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet as he stood with the rest of his teammates and Miho at the bus stop. "Today is such a beautiful day, nya!" he remarked happily. Miho nodded in agreement while Fuji just offered his usual smile. "Is Aa-chan coming?" Eiji asked curiously, shifting his overnight bag and his tennis bag to a more comfortable position on his shoulder.

"She said she'd come if she felt better," Fuji answered.

Miho and Eiji looked worried. "It's not serious, is it?" Miho asked. "She's not at the hospital again, is she?"

"Eh? Iie… Aa-chan had a fever," Fuji explained. "It was raining the other day and she ran home without an umbrella." Hearing this, Miho gave a shake of her head, although she looked rather relieved. Fuji, on the other hand, was not too pleased. "I don't see why she couldn't have waited. I was almost done, too," he grumbled, shifting his bags as well.

"Sorry I'm late!"

Fuji pivoted on his left leg to find Asa, looking as if she had just managed to drag herself out of bed. His smile grew wider. "You're feeling better?" he asked happily, knowing full well that the girl wouldn't have dragged herself out onto this trip if she hadn't been. "I'm glad! The trip will be really fun!"

Ryuzaki-sensei glanced at her assembled students, counting heads. "We have quite a bit of helpers, ne?" she asked, looking rather pleased. In addition to Echizen's trio of faithful followers, her own granddaughter, and Osakada Tomoka, they now had Miho and Asa. _Seven should be enough,_ she thought. _We're only staying for two nights, after all._ She dearly hoped that seven would be enough for the seventeen tennis players. If not, they were in trouble. "Sakaki-sensei has assured me that his team would be waiting for us at the lodging. Let's get going, then!"

"Hai!"

"Ne, Asa-chan," Miho asked as they found a seat on the bus. Thankfully, the bus wasn't that crowded. Terrible things could happen on a crowded bus if one wasn't careful. "Have you ever been to one of Seigaku's training camps?" Asa shook her head, and Miho gave a soft sigh. "Oh… and here I was planning on asking you what it was like. All Eiji told me was to pack my overnight bag and bring a few extra tennis rackets."

"Oshitari-kun advised me to bring my racket, too," Asa murmured. "I'm quite looking forward to this whole training camp. It's no wonder that both Seigaku and Hyotei are incredibly strong; they obviously take tennis very seriously." Oh, it was wonderful, stating the overly obvious.

Fuji was sitting next to Tezuka in one of the seats towards the back of the bus. It would be a long trip, and he had packed a novel into his bag just for that reason. Perhaps he should actually read it, like Tezuka was doing… "Ne, Tezuka, wake me up when we get there," Fuji said lightly. Tezuka glanced up from his book and raised an eyebrow at his teammate. In answer, Fuji simply smiled at him and then leaned his head against the window. He was asleep within a matter of minutes.

"Ijuuin-chan, have you a spare jacket?" Tezuka asked. The two girls were seated on the opposite side of the aisle from him and Fuji.

"Eh? Yeah." Asa pulled out the garment, a dual-toned jacket in a nice shade of blue. "Here you go, Tezuka-kun." She handed the item to him and both she and Miho watched curiously as Tezuka draped it over the sleeping tensai's upper body.

"This bus is air-conditioned," Tezuka explained, "and he might catch a cold if he sleeps on an air-conditioned bus in what he's currently wearing." He gestured to the sleeping boy and the short-sleeved shirt he was wearing at the moment.

"Ah… I see…" _I've never heard about that,_ Asa thought to herself. _I guess one really does learn something new everyday._

"Does that mean that Eiji might also catch a cold?" Miho asked, glancing at the seat in front of Tezuka and Fuji. The redhead was slumbering peacefully in his seat, bent nearly sideways over his knees. Taka looked like he was deliberating whether or not he should wake up the boy or let him sleep on and possibly bump his head when the bus stopped.

"Have you an extra jacket?" Asa asked slyly. "It'd be terrible if Eiji-kun caught a cold, now, wouldn't it?" Miho thought this over before digging into her overnight bag and producing an extra jacket. It was always useful to carry extras. And throughout the duration of the trip, Tezuka wondered why he had bothered to care about the welfare of his teammates, as Miho and Asa got into a heated debate under their breaths on whether or not Eiji needed the jacket (Miho hesitating, wondering whether or not he really needed it, and Asa arguing that he did simply because… well… she wanted to). It was enough to drive him insane. Thankfully, he had his book, and so he busied himself by immersing himself in the words of his page.

He was at peace and quite happy until Momo and Kaidoh started arguing, very loudly, in the seat behind him. Why those two rivals sat next to each other he would never know, nor did he think he would ever care. "Momoshiro, Kaidoh," he growled out. They instantly shut up. "30 laps around the complex when we get there."

And the bus was deathly silent for the remainder of the trip.

***

"Wow…" Asa couldn't find any other words to describe this vast complex. "Sugoi! This is the first time I've seen a traditional Japanese house!" Her blue eyes fairly shone with excitement; Fuji couldn't help but chuckle lightly.

"It's nice, isn't it?" he asked, and she nodded enthusiastically. He followed the rest of his teammates inside as they began to chatter about how they were going to be dividing the rooms. The final list of who would be rooming with who was posted on the wall in the hallway. "Ah… I'm rooming with Oshitari," Fuji remarked nonchalantly as he scanned down for his name.

"Maa… it'll be fun!" Asa teased him, poking him gently in the side. "You'll see!" she said brightly, giving him a smile before she turned to Miho. "Miho-chan… let's go check out the kitchen. If we need anything I want to go buy it now while there's still light. I saw a grocery store just around the corner when we were walking here from the bus stop." Miho nodded, voicing her agreement as the two girls vanished behind the corner.

"So serious, nya," Eiji commented happily as he pushed forward to read his own name. "I'm rooming with Ohtori-kun!" So saying, he spun around and sought out the silver-haired junior. When he did locate the other boy, he waved madly at him. "We're rooming together!" he fairly screeched over the others.

"Eh… hai, Kikumaru-san…"

Their coaches let them have that afternoon to themselves for unpacking and exploring. Training would start tomorrow promptly at eight in the morning. Fuji set his tennis bag in the corner of his shared room and glanced around. It was a medium-sized rectangular room with two beds set against the walls, modeled after a general hotel room style. But it looked cozy enough, and the beds were quite nice (soft and bouncy; he had amused himself with sitting on his and bouncing up and down several times). Oshitari made himself comfortable on the edge of his bed and pulled out a book and began reading. Fuji, out of curiosity, bent his head to read the title of his novel. "Romeo and Juliet?" he asked, straightening up.

"A most tragic romance," Oshitari answered him, not even glancing up from the pages of his book. "This is – what? – the third time I've read this play? It's so gripping…" He continued on, and Fuji decided that it was best to leave his roommate to his reading.

_Ah… what to do?_ He stood in the hallway and pondered to himself. He already knew where the tennis courts were, he knew where Tezuka and Echizen were rooming (in case he ever wanted to pop into their rooms and annoy them. A pity then that they weren't in the same room; it would have made his job easier), he knew where all the halls went to… _Or, maybe not all of them,_ he thought sheepishly, pausing in his aimless trek around the house to puzzle over his surroundings. _Great… I'm lost… how humiliating…_

At that time voices drifted into his range of hearing, and he made his way towards them. They led him to the kitchen, where Miho and Asa were with the Sakuno, the three girls combing through the contents of the room. "We can make curry," Sakuno offered, looking at the little mound of food they had gathered on the center table.

"Ah… I suppose curry it is, then," Asa mused, casting the mound a critical glance. "Saa… let's get going, then. It might take us a while to get it all done, since we have yet to find all the utensils…" She trailed off and glanced at Miho.

Miho looked up from the drawer she was looking at. "Knives?" she offered, picking up one of the sharp objects. "They have a whole set of them in here, and that other drawer has silverware," here, she gestured at the drawer adjacent to the one she currently had open.

"That works, then," Asa said brightly, finding a pot that was big enough to cook in. "Should we make miso soup, as well? I see miso paste in that pile…"

"Maa… add wasabi to it, please?" Fuji piped up from the doorway. They jumped and turned to see him.

"Fuji-sempai!" Sakuno stuttered, looking startled. Miho waved cheerfully at him, and Asa offered a grin.

"Want to help?" Miho asked, "Or are you busy doing something else and just thought to pop in here?"

Fuji laughed, his smile widening. "I don't have much to do at the moment. Oshitari is reading a romance novel and I thought it would be best not to disturb him." Here Miho nodded, muttering about her brother and his frightening obsession with romance novels. "But will you add wasabi to the miso soup?" He looked hopefully at Asa, and she was struck with the similarity of his face and that of a puppy wanting to go into a house when it was raining. Both were too irresistibly cute.

"Tezuka-kun will be angry if there's too much spicy food," Asa murmured. Fuji sighed and pouted. Tezuka was a really capable captain, that was a given, but sometimes he annoyed Fuji to no ends with the fact that he couldn't quite stomach spicy foods. This had been discovered when Fuji had forced him to eat several wasabi sushi the day they had thrown a party for Oishi's fifteenth birthday, and Tezuka had passed out on the floor.

Fuji was not joking when he recounted this tale, with a very serious expression on his face, to the three girls. Sakuno's jaw dropped in shock as she learned of the incident, Miho looked torn between looking extremely scared and wanting to laugh. And Asa just shook her head, not doing anything else. _How like him,_ she thought with a smile. _Although I'm surprised Tezuka-kun took the sushi in the first place._

A half hour later, dinner was ready. Somehow, they had managed to stop Fuji from sneaking any extra and unwanted wasabi into the dishes, much to his disappointment, although he lived with it. "Ne, Fuji-kun, could you tell everyone dinner is ready?" Miho asked Fuji as she turned off the stove. Fuji gave a cheerful nod and trotted dutifully off to do his appointed task. In no time at all, the genius had managed to round up all of the other members, and the dining room was packed. Even Atobe, with his many complaints on how he was eating 'commoner's foods,' sat and ate as well. Miho and Asa gave each other smiles and slapped high fives.

"Goal!" they said happily, earning them a couple curious glances.

Shishido huffed, popping another mouthful of curry into his mouth. "Honestly," he grumbled, "Seigaku's Fuji has the weirdest girlfriend."

Fuji chuckled as he ate his own meal. "Why, thank you," he said, causing the other boy to twitch as he wondered whether or not there was a hidden threat in his words. "You're the first one who said Aa-chan is my girlfriend." The whole room was silent after this comment, and Tezuka looked like he was ready to order everyone, whether or not they were a part of Seigaku, to run laps.

Asa took a deep breath and began making her way for the kitchen. "I think I'll leave, now," she muttered, and was promptly dragged back by Miho.

A dangerous looking smile was on Miho's face as she tugged on her friend's arm. "Ne, ne, aren't you going to spend some time with your _boyfriend_?"

"Miho-chan, you are the devil in disguise," Asa grumbled darkly. "I'm going to bed. That's the end of it. Good night." She marched off, leaving a puzzled Miho to chase after her.

"But, Asa-chan! It's not even eight o'clock yet! You need to do something more productive than sleep!" There was suddenly a scuffling sound and then silence. Fuji cocked his head to the side before he heard the sound of tennis balls bouncing outside.

"Tennis?" he murmured, standing up and abandoning his food. Eiji bounced after him and the two made their ways to the courts to observe.

"And this is your 'something more productive'?" Asa asked, standing on one side of the court while she watched Miho bounce a little yellow tennis ball. For answer, the other girl just served the ball over. "Maa, maa… Miho-chan is so mean," Asa grumbled, chasing after the ball and hitting it back.

Fuji seated himself comfortably on the porch and gestured for Eiji to sit next to him. The redhead willingly did so. "Looks fun, doesn't it?" Fuji asked softly. "One day, let's play doubles with them."

Eiji grinned, resting his chin on his hands. "Yeah! That'd be the best."

Miho hit the ball once again and started for the net. "Well, what do you know?" she asked happily. "Nii-san's teaching isn't that bad!"

Asa huffed and angled her racket, hitting an upward lob. "What do you mean 'not that bad'?" she retorted, although she was quite pleased with herself. While Miho was probably hitting really easy balls, the fact that she could run and return _anything _made her quite proud. "Ne, Miho-chan…" she started.

"What?"

"Let's do this again sometime." She gave her friend a genuine smile, and Miho paused slightly to take in the sight. "It's really fun… playing against Miho-chan even if she's going easy on me."

"You'll topple over sideways if I go any harder," Miho huffed, but she was smiling happily herself. "Let's do this again sometime, then. Preferably before we get into college and get too lazy to run back and forth on a court. What do you think?" She gave her a cheeky grin and Asa gave a short wave with her hand.

"I think that's lovely." She turned and waved at Fuji and Eiji. "Ne, care to join us?" she asked cheerfully.

Fuji's face lit up, and Eiji did a happy somersault off of the porch. "We thought you'd never ask, nya!" Eiji retorted, running inside. He was back in a few moments with his racket and Fuji's. "Let's play! Let's play!"

And so they did.

* * *

A/N: Ah... yeah... this would have been up last night but the site wouldn't let me on my documents. *sobs* So it's up now. Sorry for the really long wait. Please read and review!

Thanks!


	19. Chapter 18

**_Chapter 18_**

Fuji stared out the window of his room and sighed. His cell phone was clutched in his hand as he waited for it to vibrate, signifying an incoming text message. _Is it done yet? Did it go well?_ He glanced down at his hand and frowned when he noticed that it was shaking slightly. He abandoned his spot at his window and instead moved to pacing the length of his room. _Maybe I should call and ask how it went…_

"Syusuke, are you ready?"

He turned to find his sister standing at his doorway with her car keys and purse in hand. Fuji decided to feign puzzlement, even though he knew full well what she was asking. "Ready for what?"

Yumiko gave her brother a curious look. "The hospital, of course," she said slowly. "We were going to see how Asa-chan is doing, weren't we? You were the one who suggested it in the first place. Okaa-san even bought flowers; white heather and juniper for protection."

Fuji offered a soft smile. "White heather also says that wishes will come true," he said softly, looking absentmindedly at his cacti where they sat on his shelf. "Ah… let's go, then. The flowers will wilt if we don't put them in water!" He bounced past his sister and popped into the kitchen. His mother had left for work, but the flowers were placed on the table, so he picked them up, admiring the delicate petals. He'd have to take a picture of them when he put them in a vase.

"They'll also wilt if you stare at them all day and don't put them in water, Syusuke," Yumiko chided, and he gave her a sheepish smile before following her out to the door to her car. Halfway to the hospital, his cell phone rang and he answered it without even glancing at the caller ID.

"Moshimoshi?" he asked sweetly.

Eiji's excited voice blared into his ear. "Nya, Fujiko-chan! Where are you? We're waiting for you!"

"Wha…?" _Did I set up an appointment with Eiji?_ He sat there in the front seat of his sister's car and blinked, thoroughly puzzled.

Miho's indignant voice filtered into his ear as he sat there. "Eiji, let me talk to Fuji-kun! It's _my_ cell phone in the first place. Use your own cell next time."

"But I forgot my cell phone!" Fuji heard Eiji wail. "Anyway, Fujiko! Get over to the hospital right away! I'll fine you 100000 yen if you're not over here in the next three seconds."

"Eiji… you know I can't just magically appear there," Fuji offered meekly. "And I don't have 100000 yen anyways. Not on me at the moment, at least." He paused for a few minutes to shift the position of the flowers on his lap. "I'm on my way to the hospital right now. Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Eiji piped up cheerfully. "We have a surprise for you. Hurry, hurry, Fujiko!" And then there was silence as he hung up and probably returned the cell phone to Miho.

"Ah… that was rather interesting," Fuji said cheerfully as he flipped his own cell phone shut.

Yumiko chuckled, giving her brother a look. "Was it Eiji-kun? He sounds excited like usual; he's such an excitable boy." She had a cheerful smile on her face as she spoke, pulling the car into the parking lot of the hospital. "Well… we're here. I hope everything went smoothly." Fuji was silent as he got out of the car, simply giving his sister a little wave before vanishing into the hospital's lobby. Yumiko looked after him before backing the car out of the parking space and leaving the parking lot. Unfortunately for her, she didn't have the day off and was late for work. Her little brother would have to take the public bus home, much as he disliked it. She almost burst out laughing when she imagined what he might look like when he realized his fate.

_Oh, poor Syusuke…_

***

"I'm here to see Ijuuin-chan," Fuji said politely to the nurse who ran the front desk. It was a different nurse from the last time he had been here, and this one obviously wasn't in a good mood.

The woman's head snapped up from the computer screen she was looking and she gave him a hard glare. "Ijuuin?" she asked shortly, looking absolutely furious. An expression that said 'why on earth are you asking me this stupid question?' was plastered on her face, and Fuji couldn't help but frown. "She's in room 207. Go through that door and then up the stairs and it's to your left." She waved him off and then returned to her computer.

"Thank you very much," Fuji said with forced politeness before heading off in the indicated direction. _What a snappish lady,_ he thought irritably. _Room 207, did she say? That's the same room as last time._ He reached the room and his hand had just settled on the doorknob when the door flew open with a bang. Eiji hurtled out and the next thing Fuji knew, he was on the ground, sprawled out flat on his back with Euji on his stomach. The flowers had been knocked out of his hands in the collision and now lay on the floor not too far from the two boys.

He grunted, wiggling underneath Eiji's added weight. "Eiji… you wouldn't mind getting up?" he asked, giving his friend a look. "We're attracting a bit of attention." The other patients on the floor were glancing at them curiously, some with scandalized looks on their faces, and there was a scattering of hushed whispers.

Eiji leapt off of his friend and his face was red. "Gomen, gomen, Fuji!" he practically wailed, looking very sorry indeed. The door opened again, and both boys craned their heads to see Miho, the girl having her hands planted on her hips and a frown on her face.

"What happened?" she asked, giving them a hard look. Instantly, Eiji was up and had latched himself onto her, wailing about the world's injustices. "There, there," Miho soothed, patting him on the back as Fuji picked himself up off the floor and rescued his flowers. "Did you two crash or something?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah… but it's nothing," Fuji assured her. "Saa, Eiji," he teased, going to complete his previous action (entering room 207), "you really shouldn't be running in a hospital."

Eiji didn't get to answer as there was suddenly a stampeding of footsteps and then two little boys charged right past them. Miho laughed, nudging Fuji in the side. "No running in a hospital, eh?" she asked, winking. Fuji just offered a helpless shrug and walked in. "Asa-chan! Fuji-kun's here to visit!" Miho called after him before collapsing in a fit of helpless giggles. Fuji paused to turn around and give her an odd look, and a pair of hands slipped over his eyes.

"Surprise!" a cheerful voice rang in his ear. The hands left his eyes and he could see again. Asa was standing behind him, her hands clasped behind her back and a bright smile on her face. Fuji was left speechless. "My surgery is postponed to tomorrow since the surgeons who were supposed to do the operation had an emergency operation to attend to. Someone was in an accident and needed critical care," she explained, still looking quite cheerful. "Oh! Are those flowers?" she asked, seeing the plants he held in his hands.

"Hai. Okaa-san picked them out this morning, it seems, before she left for work," Fuji said, padding over to place them in a vase. "What are you doing today, since you don't have your operation?" he asked, arranging the flowers neatly in the vase before placing them on the bedside table. "Maa… it's a pity that you can't leave the hospital. Otherwise we could do something fun."

"Yeah… it's a real pity," Miho sighed, seating herself on the edge of the bed. "So… what do we do?" She frowned thoughtfully.

Eiji grinned, grabbing a backpack that was in the chair next to the bed. "I brought board games!" he announced, digging into the bag and producing a variety of games. "How about monopoly?" he asked, looking hopeful.

Fuji's face brightened. "Yes, let's play, let's play!" he said happily, taking the game from Eiji. The two of them instantly set about to set up the game, chattering cheerfully as they did so.

Miho glanced at Asa, flashing her a smile. "Ne, Asa-chan, don't you think this will be fun?"

"Ah… I suppose…" _I hope Syusuke doesn't cheat again,_ she thought, remembering the time she had had a fever last weak and how he had moved her piece all the way from its regular spot to jail. In short, she was wary to play monopoly with Fuji.

"It's ready. Let's play!" Fuji announced, waving the two girls over. "Take your pick of pieces." He paused when he noticed Asa's suspicious gaze on him. "Is something wrong, Aa-chan?" he asked, feigning ignorance.

"Maa… I'm not sure I can trust you if I play monopoly with you," she said, looking rather serious. "Last time we played, you moved my piece all the way to jail when it was on the other side of the board." Eiji's jaw dropped as he listened to the recount of this.

"Nya, Fujiko! That's cheating!" he exclaimed.

Fuji grinned cheekily. "I don't call it cheating, Eiji," he said brightly. "I call it retaliation." Asa groaned as she listened to his reasoning. "Saa… let's play," Fuji urged, sitting down on the floor and grabbing the dice. "I'm going first!"

"Eh? But that's not fair, Fuji-kun!"

"Miho is right! We have to all roll the dice! Biggest number goes first!"

"Saa… I got it first, so that means I'm going first!"

"Fuji—!"

"Fuji-kun—!"

Asa watched all of this from the sidelines, a small smile on her face. _Ah… it's nice to hear them, even if they're bickering._ Her smile widened as she made herself comfortable next to Fuji. He laughed, said something in reply to a sulky looking Eiji before leaning his head comfortably on her shoulder. Miho whispered something in Eiji's ear, and the boy perked up, looking instantly much happier. _I want to remember this day, when my friends are with me and we're all laughing._

_Forever._

***

Fuji walked out of the bathroom of his house, his brown hair damp from his shower and still clinging to his forehead in limp, sodden strands. His shower had been refreshing; he enjoyed the feel of the hot water washing over his body. "Nee-san, you're up next," he called dutifully to the general direction of his sister's room. Her answering reply drifted through her slightly open doorway, and he started padding down the hall to his own room, rubbing at the back of his head and his dripping hair with his towel as he went in an attempt to not drip as much he could possibly do (there was still a trail of water droplets on the floor, though, Go figure.).

_Yuuta's not coming home for the weekend,_ he thought, padding over to his window and opening it. A warm summer breeze, light and playful, danced into his room and ruffled with his slowly drying hair. He was faintly disappointed; tonight was a beautiful night and it would have been wonderful if he could have taken Yuuta stargazing. It would have been nice to spend some quality time with him.

_But, no… he's at St. Rudolph's doing extra training,_ he thought sulkily, tossing his wet towel onto his bed and climbing up onto his windowsill, leaning his back comfortably against the window frame. His cell phone was on his desk just in his line of vision, and he contemplated calling someone else to go stargazing with him. _How about Aa-chan?_ He was briefly excited with the prospect of going with her again, but then remembered that she was at the hospital. Her surgery had just happened a week ago, but since it was such a large operation, only members of her immediate family were allowed to visit her for the time-being.

And that meant Fuji was at home, with nothing to do and no one to tease. Eiji and Miho were out of the question, since by now both of them had learned that when they spent time together, they were to turn off their phones lest they get interrupted by a nosy Fuji. The first time Fuji had done this, it was just when Eiji had managed to muster up the courage to give Miho a proper kiss, and he interrupted right in the middle of it.

Needless to say, Eiji was not pleased. Neither was Miho, to some extent.

_I wish I could visit Aa-chan,_ he sighed, dropping his chin onto his knees and glaring out at the empty street. _Stupid regulations which keep me in the land of boredom… _No doubt Asa didn't need to say anything and she would be able to cheer him up considerably and give him something to do.

His house phone suddenly sprang to life, and Fuji, not expecting it to ring, nearly toppled out of his window. It stopped ringing in a few seconds, so he assumed his mother had answered it and it wasn't for him. _Another disappointment,_ he grumbled to himself, making himself comfortable once more on his windowsill.

"Syusuke, it's for you." Fuji's head popped up and he turned to see his mother standing at his doorway. She held the phone out to him. "Phone call for you, Syusuke. It's rude to make them wait." He gave a hasty nod and hopped off his windowsill, taking the phone from his mother with a smile.

"Moshimoshi?" he asked into the phone, settling himself onto his bed, shifting the towel to the other end. He should really probably hang it up and let it properly dry… but he was too lazy and preoccupied at the moment. Yes, that's it. He was simply too lazy and preoccupied at the moment that he couldn't spare a few seconds and hang up his towel. _Saa… such a weak excuse,_ he scolded himself. _I know you can do better than that, Fuji Syusuke!_

On the other side of the line, whoever was calling him called to some other person wherever they were. "Asa-onee-chan, I'm putting it on speaker phone!" Kurumi's voice drifted into his ear as he sprawled out on his back on his bed, moving his pillow so that he could place it on his stomach and hug the soft material. "Konichiwa, Syusuke-onii-chan!" Kurumi said brightly a few moments later.

Fuji chuckled. "Konichiwa, Kurumi-chan," he said sweetly. She laughed on the other end and then launched into a spirited monologue, to which he simply listened, inserting a "Yes," or a simple "Hmm…" whenever he deemed it necessary. "That sounds interesting," he said when she was done with her tirade about visiting the new amusement park. "It sounds rather fun. I hope you enjoy yourself when you go there."

There was an excited squeal from Kurumi, and then she was screaming, "Asa-onee-chan! He said it sounded fun!" Almost instantly, Fuji could hear a voice reprimanding her on the other end (it sounded like Narumi) for being so loud. "Ne, Syusuke-onii-chan…" Kurumi was back on the line, apparently not in the least daunted by her sister's scoldings, "you should come over. The nurses say that Asa-onee-chan can take other visitors for short periods of time and I think she gets bored with just having us all day to accompany her."

Fuji perked up, sitting up on his bed and tossing his pillow to the side. "Really? Are you sure it's alright if I come over?"

"Eh? You mean now?"

Except he had already sprinted from the room, making twenty times the noise he usually made. "Kaa-san, could I make a stop at the hospital?" he asked, popping into the kitchen and placing the phone back onto its cradle. "Please?"

Yoshiko looked up from the meal she was cooking, a curious expression on her face. "Is Asa-chan accepting visitors?" she asked. "Make sure you buy some get-well flowers or something of the sort when you go," she said simply, turning back to her pot. "And tell her that she has my deepest wishes for a safe recovery. Don't stay too long and tire her out."

"Hai! I'll do that!" Fuji said brightly as he bounced out the door. He was already halfway to the bus stop when Yoshiko looked up from her pot, a look of slight mortification on her face.

"I hope he doesn't buy a get-well melon…" she muttered. "And then I hope he doesn't buy a permanent marker and draw something on it…"

Maybe she should have thought a tad bit more before she let her son out the door. Maybe.

***

Kurumi was fuming, pacing the hospital room with her hands behind her back. Narumi had retrieved her older sister's cell phone and placed it on the table, turning it off before settling herself on a chair to watch her twin's antics. "I can't believe it!" Kurumi wailed, the very picture of dejection. "I can't believe Syusuke-onii-chan just hung up on me! That's not fair!" Lying in bed under a mountain f blankets, Asa cracked a smile at her littlest sister while Narumi just shook her head. By now she had learned that quieting down her younger twin would simply be a waste of her breath, so she simply didn't bother. The nurses who passed by their open door, however, would always give them either a curious stare or a frown.

Oh, well… it would only reflect on Kurumi, so she supposed it was fine. At least that's what she hoped.

"Hello." They turned to the doorway to see Fuji, looking quite out of breath but otherwise quite fine and his usual self. "I just grabbed something; I hope you don't mind." He had left his house twenty minutes ago and had practically sprinted to the bus stop, calling Eiji on his way. The redhead had promised that he'd be there, too, so he was looking forward to his friend's appearance. "Saa… is there a vase around?" he asked amiably, producing a bouquet of flowers from behind his back.

Kurumi and Narumi looked shocked. "You just… picked that up?" Kurumi squeaked, staring at the flowers. "That would have taken me forever to pick out! How long did it take you to pick them out, Syusuke-onii-chan?"

Fuji tipped his head to the side. "Well, when I say I just grabbed something, I'm talking about thirty or so seconds?" He chuckled lightly at their awed expressions.

"Maa… don't listen to him. He's probably exaggerating." The younger girls turned around to the eldest Ijuuin, puzzled expressions on their faces. "Arigatou for the gift, Fuji-kun."

Fuji found the vase he was looking for and filled it with water before slipping the flowers in them. "No problem. Eiji will be coming soon, too, I think. I called him on the way." And of course, knowing Eiji, he had probably called the rest of the team just to drag them along for company. Fuji was hoping for a full house. _Maybe I should call them, just in case,_ he pondered, but decided that he trusted Eiji enough.

True to his thoughts, the door suddenly slid open. "Hoi, hoi! We made it!' Eiji announced happily as he bounced into the room. He was followed by Miho, who made gestures with her hands in an attempt to shush him. They were followed by Oishi and Tezuka. "Fujiko-chan called me, and I thought it'd be cool if we all came along!" he said happily. Miho looked like she was going to pounce on him and physically cover his mouth with her hand. "Taka-san couldn't come because he has to mind the shop, Inui is training Kaidoh but he promised to that they'd come later, and Momo and Echizen are coming after they finish their trip to the burger joint."

"Ah… is that so? Thank you, then," Asa uttered from the bed. _He didn't have to go to such lengths… now I feel bad for taking so much of their time,_ she thought, giving an awkward little smile. Oishi kicked into his "Mother Hen" mode, bustling about the room in a rather concerned manner.

Tezuka glanced at the vase of flowers and simply raised an eyebrow. "Did you buy those, Fuji?" he asked, the same expressionless expression on his face.

Fuji nodded in affirmative, looking rather playful. "What? Did you want to buy them instead?" he teased. Tezuka's frown darkened as he looked at his mischievous teammate.

"I was merely curious," he said shortly, and realized almost instantly his mistake. Fuji zoned in on this like a hawk.

"Even the famous Tezuka-buchou can be curious about something other than tennis?" he asked, leaning forward with that dangerous smile on his face. There was an almost equally dangerous air around captain and subordinate that made the other members nervous for a few moments.

"Yeah, I suppose I can," Tezuka said gruffly, folding his arms into their customary position over his chest and turning his face purposefully away from the smiling tensai.

As Eiji promised, the other members arrived some time later. Kaidoh looked obviously uncomfortable in the hospital setting while Echizen looked totally indifferent, even uttering his normal 'Mada mada dane,' much to Asa's amusement. Momo promptly took the liberties of giving the youngest member of the team a noogie, to which he yowled, 'It hurts! It hurts!' over and over again until he finally freed. Inui was rattling off something about nutrition, complete with percentages of essential vitamins and minerals he recommended in a specially planned diet. _I think he's getting really fired up about this… I don't know whether or not I should be happy or seriously frightened…_

Presently, a nurse bustled into the room and frowned when she saw the small space packed with boys. "Shoo, shoo!" she scolded, making the appropriate shooing gestures towards the door. "Ijuuin-chan is a patient who needs lots of rest. She'll never properly heal if you never let her sleep." At the nurse's accusations they looked dutifully guilty, but promised that they'd be back in the next few days or so for another visit. Asa never got the chance to tell them that it wasn't necessary before they shut the door behind them. She sighed, defeated.

"My, my… what sweet friends you have," the nurse teased, snapping open the curtains that covered the window with a deft flick of her wrists. "They're quite a rowdy bunch, but they're honest enough." Asa cocked her head in light puzzlement, and the older woman answered her unspoken question of 'How do you know?' "When you've worked with people for as long as I have, you're bound to learn these things," the nurse confessed with a wink. "You're lucky to have such good friends to worry about you, as well as your family. So work hard and get better, so you can join them outside of the hospital, ne?"

She was silent for a moment as she pondered this before nodding, smiling as she did so. "Yeah…" she said softly, almost hesitantly, before her resolve strengthened. "Hai! I'll be sure to get better as soon as I can!"

_Because when I do get better, there will a special smile waiting for me,_ she thought, thinking of Fuji.

The nurse laughed. "Ah… one of those boys is your sweetheart," she teased, a knowing look in her eyes.

"Eh?"

The nurse simply chuckled and didn't answer, leaving a flustered Asa to burrow under the covers. "Sleep now," she crooned. "I'll come with your medicines after dinner. Adequate sleep and good nutrition are the keys to good health. Maybe I should see if that friend of yours' menu is any good; it seems like he did a long of research, that boy with the data."

"Mm… Inui-kun is like that," Asa mumbled sleepily. "I think he's the top of his science class or something like that."

The other chuckled again. "Hai, hai," she said gently, tucking the girl snuggly into her covers. "Rest well. If you wake up and anything hurts, hit the button on the top of the bed, alright?" A sleepy agreement came, and the nurse left the room, shutting the door gently behind her. "Oh, you're still here?" she asked curiously when she saw Fuji sitting in one of the benches in the hall.

The boy looked up at her as she spoke and then stood, bowing politely. "Hai. I hope you don't mind," he said by way of apologizing.

The nurse laughed outright, that little knowing twinkle in her eyes growing into a steady sparkle. "You're Ijuuin-chan's boyfriend?" she asked, and was rewarded with a flushed look on the boy's face. "Score for me!" She laughed gleefully, like a little girl. "She's sleeping right now. If you're not disruptive, I think you could stay with her. Technically speaking, she's supposed to have a nurse monitor her when she's asleep, in case something goes wrong with her heart and she can't hit the button to call one of us. She's been doing pretty well these few days, so the doctor's have sad it's alright for to be alone when she naps."

She gestured to the doors. "But it doesn't hurt if she has someone she likes watching over her, ne?" she asked. "If you're not busy at the moment, why don't you stay?"

Fuji thanked her and slipped into the room. His smiling eyes found the button located on the side of the bed. _Ah… so that's the button that calls the members of the hospital staff,_ he noted to himself. It was within easy reach of a patient lying in bed.

He pulled up a chair to the edge of the bed and made himself comfy on it, pulling out his cell phone and giving a quick call to his mother to let her know that he'd be late getting home that day. _The hospital is too quiet for comfort,_ Fuji sighed to himself, leaning forward so that he could rest his arms comfortably on the edge of the bed. Warm sunlight poured into the room and landed on the bed, and he couldn't quite help himself. In moments, he, too, was fast asleep, huddled over the bed with his head cushioned on his arms.

That was how Yumiko found her little brother when she came to pick him up, having pity on him and seeing that he wasn't home by the time she had gotten back from work. _It's a pity to wake him; he looks so peaceful, _she thought, smiling softly from the doorway. "Sorry, Syusuke, but you can't stay here the entire night," she said, shaking his shoulder gently. He woke, lifting his head with a groggy expression on his face. Perhaps the only time she would ever see a puzzled expression on her brother's face at just like in general would be within the first five minutes of him waking up. It was a pity; he was so cute when he was still half-asleep. "Ne, Syusuke, Asa-chan should see you like this some time."

He shot up, instantly awake. "No thank you, nee-san," he said hastily. He gave his friend one last look, checking to see that the flowers had enough water as he ushered his sister out the door. "What did Kaa-san make for dinner?" he asked cheerfully as he pushed her out of the room. Both Fuji's nodded to the nurse who was standing out side the door with a tray of hospital food, as well as an assortment of medications. "She's still asleep," Fuji informed her. The nurse gave a simple smile in return.

"Did you enjoy your time at the hospital?" Yumiko asked as she drove the two of them home. Fuji nodded, looking quite pleased.

"I want Aa-chan to get better in time for the Nationals," he said brightly. "And since it's summer vacation, I think it will be manageable if I balance hospital visits and tennis practices."

"Such a busy-body you are, Syusuke."

He chuckled. "Am I?" he asked innocently. "But still, Aa-chan's changed a lot over the year. I'll be looking forward to when she's all better and like any other normal girl in our class. Maybe she should try out for the tennis team, too. She's not half bad."

"You're just saying that because you wish you were the one who taught her."

_I am,_ Fuji agreed in his mind. _But either way, I'm glad. Aa-chan, who still managed to shine in her own way even though she was sick… she'll shine even more._

_And I want to be the first one to see that._

* * *

A/N: Yeah! The Epiloque is within my sights! *does a happy dance* Please read and review; hope you guys liked it!


	20. Epilogue

**_Epilogue_**

_The Nationals…_

Fuji's characteristic smile stretched into a wide grin. The sun was shining on the tennis courts, the birds were singing in the trees, he had teased Tezuka endlessly on the way to the courts (it took the edge of disappointment off the fact that he had had to take the public bus).

_Life is good, and we made it to Nationals!_

He couldn't resist a little laugh, causing Tezuka to give him an odd look as the Seigaku team made their way over to the courts they were designated to play in. "What's wrong, Teauka?" he asked playfully as he walked along the stoic captain's side.

"It's nothing." He laughed and continued on his spirited trek, holding a cheerful conversation with Eiji as he did so. The acrobat was happy to comply with his best friend's happy chatter. A sudden mewing, however, directed the boys' attention to something at their feet. A small white cat sat in front of them, looking up with the occasional flick of her ears. It was an awfully familiar cat, Fuji noted, as he knelt down so that he could better see the small creature.

"Seika! Seika!" Desperate voices were suddenly heard, and Kurumi and Narumi burst out into the path. "There you are!" the sixth graders exclaimed, swooping down to collect the feline. Seika took one look at them and darted behind Fuji, clawing her way up his tennis bag so that she could perch on top of it. "Seika!" Kurumi cried, glaring at the small bundle of fluff. "Get off of Syusuke-onii-chan's tennis bag!" For answer, Seika simply mewed.

"Hoi, hoi… aren't you Aa-chan's little sister?" Eiji asked brightly, popping up from behind Fuji. "Is Aa-chan here, today?"

"I think she's coming," Narumi said sweetly. Seika mewed again, her tail flicking from side to side as Fuji reached up and picked her up. The cat snuggled for a few moments before leaping down to the ground. "Good luck at your first match. Who are you playing against?"

"We're not until the later matches, but if everything goes well with the match between Higa Chuu and Rokkaku, then our opponents will be Rokkaku," Inui muttered into his notebook. They continued walking, with the twins waving goodbye as they left (placing Seika in a cat carrier lest she decided to go off and roam some more) for their other errands.

"It'd be nice to play against Rokkaku again," Fuji said brightly. "I'm looking forward to displaying a new counter of mine."

"I'm sorry I'm late!" They turned to find Miho running towards them, a digital camera clutched in her hand.

Eiji blinked. "Why do you have a camera?" he asked, pointing to the device.

Miho grinned. "Oh, this?" she asked, holding it up. "It's the Nationals! Of course I have to bring a camera! Besides, until Asa-chan gets here (if she can make it), I intend to take a bunch of pictures so she can see the matches!"

"Oh… I see…"

Miho chuckled, giving them a thumbs-up. "Do your best, ne? It's your dream to go to Nationals, so now that you're here, win it and become Japan's No. 1!"

"Of course!"

***

When Seigaku won the Nationals and indeed became Japan's No. 1, Miho couldn't quite say that she was surprised. After all, Seigaku was a team who worked tirelessly towards all of their dreams. Eiji bounced happily around her, a look of absolute bliss on his face, and she stopped him only when she couldn't take it anymore. "We won, we won!" he kept crowing, pumping his fist excitedly in the air. "Can you believe it?"

"Congratulations."

Eiji blinked, puzzled by the soft congrats, only to discover seconds later that it hadn't come from Miho. "Ah…! Aa-chan…!" he exclaimed. "You made it! Did you see Ochibi's match?" And he was off, his mouth moving at around 70 miles per hour as he recounted every shocking part of the matches against Seigaku and Rikkai Dai, taking care to put emphasis on Fuji's newest counter, Hoshi Hanabi. "We could really see stars!" he raved, but then shushed when he noticed Fuji's face having a light frown on it. "Nya, Fujiko-chan, why don't you look happy?" he inquired, "We won, didn't we?"

"I lost," he said flatly.

Eiji was puzzled, before realizing what he meant by those two words. "Oh! You mean that match against Shitenhoji's captain, Shiraishi, don't you?" he said, still cheerful. Fuji's expression darkened. "Cheer up, cheer up!" Eiji said brightly, patting his friend on the shoulder. "In the end, it all adds up!"

Fuji, true to his nature, was stubborn. "I lost," he continued, looking sulky.

"Ah… the semi-finals, was it? You were in Singles 3? I heard it on the radio," Asa mused. Fuji twitched, and then sighed. That was to be expected, wasn't it? This _was_ a nationally ranked competition, after all. "But it was impressive," Asa continued with her musings. "You caught up from nothing to his 5 games, didn't you? As expected of Seigaku's tensai."

"And in the end, I still lost," Fuji glowered at the ground as he spoke, looking furious. _If I remember correctly from Inui, he's never lost an official match before,_ Asa thought, beginning to look worriedly at her friend. _He's taking it rather hard. But he looked perfectly fine during the last match with Rikkai._

"Are… you alright, Fuji-kun?" she offered up tentatively. "A loss once in a while isn't that bad, is it? Everyone loses once or twice…"_ I wonder… does that include Tezuka-kun?_ Conveniently, she had missed the match between Tezuka and Sanada, both in person and on the radio, otherwise she wouldn't be wondering about this.

"Maa… I guess the experts are right when they say that geniuses are fragile." This statement caught everyone's attention, and Fuji cocked his head to one side, looking like he was debating on whether to take offense at the phrase or to shrug it off like he would any other. "They're so used to being so high up that one slight dip sends them crashing to the ground."

"Saa… you're comparing me to a bird, now, Aa-chan?" Fuji asked, still trying to decide how he should properly react.

"Not quite; a bird will right itself up immediately and catch the next current upwards."

"Ah… so I'm worse then a bird?"

"You can't fly."

"True…"

Tezuka gave a light cough and they turned their attention to the stoic captain. "Don't let your guard down," he said sternly, "We may have passed this hurdle but there are many more to go." Asa simply assumed that he was referring to his teammates, so she moved herself backwards slightly, only to snap to rigid attention when he barked out her name. "Ijuuin! Where are you going?" He was frowning at her, looking clearly displeased.

"I thought you were talking to your teammates, so I was moving back to get out of the way," she offered lamely.

"Absolutely not," he growled. "Pay attention; this is very important."

"Ah… hai!" She was tempted to add 'buchou' after that and tried imagining his reaction to it, although she didn't for fear that he would be heartless enough to make her run laps. That would… not be pleasant. _Tezuka-kun is acting slightly strange… maybe he's too happy about having won the Nationals?_

If she had thought his behavior was slightly abnormal compared to his usual character, the next thing he uttered, that 'very important' thing that he had mentioned earlier, left her thoroughly baffled. "Take care of Fuji while he's in your care."

_Maybe it's too hot. These boys have been running nonstop in the heat all day today. That's it. There is no other explanation. Maybe when they cool down Tezuka-kun will be back to the emotionless Tezuka-kun I know._ She was frantically trying to reassure herself when Fuji butted into her thoughts.

"Is something bothering you?"

"They… he…" Wonderful, she was stuttering now. "He makes you sound like your dying of some terminal illness!"

"I _am _dying."

"Wha--?" It took her a while to register that he was joking, to which she pouted, looking furious. "Don't joke! It's not funny!" He must not have shared her thoughts, because he looked like this was the most amusing part of his day. To say the least, it was rather infuriating.

It was only with Taka-san's gentle reminders that they should get going now (Eiji and Momo happily invited themselves over to the Kawamura's restaurant for sushi… not that Taka objected, of course) and Asa being called back to her mother, who was standing next to a wheelchair looking dutifully worried for the well-being of her eldest child.

"Ne, Aa-chan. We'll come visit one day! Don't plan anything without running it by us this week, OK?" Fuji called out, smiling at her. She gave a small nod before being subjected to the acts of being pushed into the wheelchair and wrapped snuggly in a blanket, despite her protests of what a hot day it was (the issue in her mind was hoping that she didn't do anything strange like Tezuka had just done moments ago). "It's a date!" Fuji called out, loud enough for those left in the stadium to hear him. Inwardly, she cringed. Her mother looked ready to burst with either pride or tears. Which one it was, she couldn't tell.

_Somehow… summer isn't as great as I thought it would be._

But in truth, she wouldn't have it any other way.

End...?

* * *

A/N: I just imagine Fuji as one of those guys who would get a kick out of scaring the living daylights out of half his friends (mainly Oishi) by saying he was dying of some terminal illness (who knows, it could be possible! The part where he does it just to scare them, that is.) It was rather fun to write. And why Tezuka was being strange? Feel free to come up with your own conclusions. Tell me them! I'd love to hear them (click the green review button. CLICK IT! XP)

The Epilogue... I've finally reached it! ^_^ But wait... there'll be more! I'm thinking of adding an omake (maybe two... if I add the cheese one. I should, shouldn't I? *pokes Teresa*) And, yes, there will be a sequel! Thank you to all my readers who have submitted reviews (more would be better, of course...) and to those who added Shine to their Favorites and Story Alerts. You don't know how happy it makes me to know that my stories are actually being _read_! *sniffles*

OK, sentimental-ness over. ;)

As always, read and review. Thank you lots!


	21. Omake 1: CHEESE!

_**Chapter 16- THE CHEESE.  
**By Teresa_

Eiji was chattering brightly in class as they waited for the teacher to come in and start the class. School was almost coming to an end, and Ryuzaki-sensei had dropped a few hints about a huge buffet with all-you-can cheese, hosted by none other than the great Atobes. It went without saying that the regulars were excited about this, of course. Eiji's current topic was his said excitement. "I wonder what new kinds will be there, nya?" he asked excitedly, his indigo eyes glowing.

Fuji offered a soft smile. "There'll surely be the best cheese you could find in all of Japan, ne?" he answered with a question of his own. "Maa… I've always wanted to try out that wasabi cheese I found on some American site called eBay!" He let out a happy sigh, and planted his chin in his hands. These past few days Fuji had seemed happy enough, although underneath his content façade he was a churning, scheming mess. Oh… Oshitari was going to pay for kidnapping his beloved sharp cheddar cheese, that fateful day at the restaurant. He would make sure of it. Eiji laughed at his friend's comment and would have said something else, except the door to the classroom flew open. Thinking that it was the teacher, the two boys instantly sat up straight in their seats until they realized that it was simply Miho who had popped into their classroom.

Eiji already bright expression brightened up some more. "Hoi, hoi, Miho-chan!" he called happily, waving to the girl. "Could you maybe possibly be carrying any cheese on you, nya?" he asked cheerfully, bouncing up to the doorway. Fuji followed at a slower pace.

Miho glanced around the classroom with a worried expression on her face. She didn't even answer the question, which uncharacteristic of her; EVERYONE knew how much the Oshitari's grabbed every chance offered to obsess about cheese. Perhaps they were the ones who influenced Atobe to suggest a cheese-celebration in the first place. Anyway: "Have you two seen Asa-chan?" she asked. "I've been trying to find her for a while now… did you walk with her today, Fuji-kun?"

"Ah… I did… wait a minute; did you use 'kun'?" Fuji looked curiously at Miho's face, but the girl was already storming out of the classroom and into the hall, muttering darkly under her breath. Fuji and Eiji exchanged amused glances as Miho stomped down the halls, saying things like 'that idiot!' and 'honestly, I know the cafeteria just a got a new shipment of cheese, but REALLY Asa!' Fuji chuckled lightly as the two boys walked down the hallways. "Her cheese must have been moldy this morning," he said lightly. Eiji nodded enthusiastically in agreement. EVERYONE knew of the Oshitari's' tradition of eating Garlic and Herb Cheese™ from The Laughing Cow®. It was their favorite.

By now they had made it to the bottom of the stairs that led to the door to the roof. A trio of freshmen girls was clustered at the base of the stairs, whispering nervously among themselves. Miho gave them a curious glance, and Fuji stepped forward. "What are you standing here for?" he asked kindly. "Classes start soon, ne?"

They glanced up from their whispers. "Ah… senpai-tachi!" one of them exclaimed. "It probably doesn't mean much to senpai-tachi… but one of our friends stormed up to the roof recently. She was threatening some things, and we were worried and were currently wondering how we should all get her back to class."

_Flashback:_

"IF YOU DARE TOUCH MY CHEESE AGAIN I SWEAR I WILL GET YOU!!!"

"But…we never touched your cheese!"

"DON'T YOU DARE 'BUT' ME!!! I KNOW SOMEONE WENT THROUGH MY BAG! MY BLUE CHEESE IS MINE, MINE!!! MINE YOU HEAR ME?!?!?!?!"

_End Flashback_

"Oh…" Miho muttered. "Did anyone else come along?"

The freshman nodded. "Hai. Another senpai…she was mumbling something about blue cheese too…"

Eiji nudged his friends. "It might be Aa-chan, nya!" he hissed, looking excited again. The words had scarcely left his mouth before they realized that Miho was already bounding up the stairs. "Miho-chan!" they called after her as she reached up for the handle.

Miho yanked on the piece of metal with a vengeance, and the door swung outwards with a bang. Cold rain, aided by a strong wind, lashed at her face as she did so.

"Aa-chan…?"

***

Asa's favorite place in the whole area that Seishen Academy was located on was the roof. On sunny days it was the best place to sit and relax with her cheese and a book (preferably not Chemistry or anything else academically related), as it was easily one of the warmest and peaceful places on the whole complex. This morning, however, it wasn't sunny and it definitely wasn't peaceful.

_It looks like I stumbled on a freshman,_ she noted as she shut the door behind her, narrowing her eyes slightly as the wind lashed droplets of water into them. _And in the middle of a rant of some sort, no less…_ The freshman had whirled around to glare at her upon her entrance onto the roof, and although she couldn't quite tell which were tears and which were rain drops, somehow she just got the feeling that her underclassman was crying.

"Gomen… did I disturb you?" she asked sweetly. The wind tore hungrily at her words as they left her mouth, and she reached up with one hand in a vain attempt to still her bangs, as they were flying into her eyes and when coupled with the rain, it was rather annoying.

Not to mention somewhat itchy…

"Eh… iie, senpai. I was just…" The other girl looked flustered, and glanced at her shoes. Asa wondered how long she had been out here; it was easily seen that she was soaked to the skin.

"You and I aren't much different, then, are we, if we both choose this place when there is such weather outside, ne? Perhaps you even like cheese too?" she asked, crossing from the doorway to the mesh fence. She leaned against it, feeling the cold metal against her hand and watching the raindrops form rivers of water on her arm. "If you wanted to get something off your chest, then by all means, don't let me interrupt you," she offered, turning and giving the younger girl a smile. Her fingers laced into the openings of the fence as she relaxed her body against the support.

"But of course I like cheese, everyone does! That's not the problem!"

Asa sighed, giving a little tip of her head to the side. "Maa… Well, I should have known. But back at my old town I was the only one. I felt very out of place," she said with mock dejection.

The other girl looked surprised at her statement, and so could only say dumbly, "Excuse me, Senpai…?"

"Yeah, it's true…can you believe it? But anyway, enough about me. What were you yelling about?"

The younger girl was taken aback by her bluntness, and so took her time answering. "Well…" she muttered, before taking a big breath. "It's stupid. I don't even know why it bothers me so much," She shivered, and Asa had a feeling it wasn't from the cold. "You see, when I was really little, my mother died. I was, oh, five years old? And the last thing she ever gave me was a piece of blue cheese. When she left, I held onto that cheese like a lifeline. And ever since then, I ALWAYS pack that same kind of blue cheese in my lunch, when I get ready in the morning. Same brand, same size, everything. And…well… I…three days ago, I went to the convenience store down the street to restock, because my supply running low, and…the lady said that they weren't shipping it in anymore!!! Today would be my last day that I got pack the cheese, because I only had one piece left. But when I went to lunch, part of it was dented! I KNOW it was perfect when I packed it in the morning, and I'm always so careful with it…I was just so sad! And…I…I completely lost my cool with my friends, because I thought that they'd been the ones to ruin it…" She trailed off, and glanced up tentatively at the older girl. "And Senpai?" she ventured hesitantly "What were you up here for?"

Asa leaned comfortably against the fencing, closing her eyes as she did so. "Actually ," she said breezily, "That was my fault. I'm sorry."

The freshman looked very confused. "You, Senpai?" she asked questioningly.

She rubbed the back of her head with a hand and frowned slightly, opening her eyes. "I was putting my bags away in the storage room…" She sighed, turning her head so that her other cheek could feel the rain against it. "I saw cheese there; but of course I did, you put it in a flashy gold box, how could anyone miss it? I was curiously, so I opened the box and found your cheese…oh, I'm so sorry, but…it was just so PRETTY! I couldn't resist…"

She sighed again and gave a faint grumble under her breath. "I was fine until I came to Tokyo, too… Tokyo guys are so obsessed with cheese, it's rubbed off on me." A ghost of a smile was on her face before she wiped it away and pushed off the fencing. "I used to be able to just obsess about it in my head, but not anymore… I'm so, so sorry."

The freshman shook her head. "Iie… It's alright, senpai."

Asa frowned. "Really? You mean it? You aren't mad at me?"

"Well…I am really disappointed, with the last of my cheese gone and all, but…somehow, I just can't bring myself to be mad. I know how nice that blue cheese looks."

The older girl's face suddenly brightened. "Ah! I know! You said the convenience store stopped importing that kind of blue cheese, right?"

"Yeah…"

"I'm SURE I saw it at Wegman's. In fact, I KNOW I did! You can just get it there from now on!"

The freshman looked puzzled. "Wegman's? Do we even have a Wegman's in Japan?"

"Ah, sure we do!!!"

"Isn't that an American grocery chain?"

"…Is this in the script?"

"No…"

"Ah. Well then, let us start that over again. So… You can just go to Wegman's from now on! I'm sure that they will have it for you."

The freshman's eyes suddenly shined. "Why, that's brilliant! Why didn't I think of that???" She clasped her hands in front of her and bowed quickly, three times in a row, saying, "Thank you, thank you senpai!!! Thank you so much!" And then she left.

Asa smiled. Ah, another good deed done. But…I should probably get out of the rain, shouldn't I? It's not good to get sick…

As if answering to her internal thoughts, she sneezed. "Ah-CHOO!" No, I didn't actually need to type in "Achoo" again since I've already mentioned that she sneezed, but…just deal, okay!

"Idiot," someone muttered in her ear. It was the last thing that she heard before it all…went…black. … … … That line is so over-used and cliché, isn't it?

***

The hospital was not a place that Fuji particularly liked to be; they never served cheese to their patients. I mean, really. HOW could they not serve cheese. His gaze bordered suspicious when he, Eiji, Miho, and Oshitari (the last being forcibly dragged along by his sister) stepped into the lobby. School had ended, and because of the weather, after school tennis practice had been cancelled. Fuji seized the chance to drag along his friends to the hospital, even if it did have an annoyingly conspicuous lack of cheese, and they had met Oshitari at the gate, as it seemed that even Hyotei had been rained out of their afternoon practices. Although, truth be told, Fuji would rather that Oshitari played in the rain and then slip and crushed all his stupid cheese in his stupidly huge cheese bag. "We're here to see Ijuuin-chan," Fuji said to the nurse who manned the front desk, offering her a sweet and innocent smile, even if his inner mind was churning with unpleasant memories.

_Another Flashback_

It was way back, a whole two weeks ago. He was feverish, and with his mom over-reacting, Fuji'd ended up in the hospital. It came time when they served him food on a plastic tray.

Milk, peas, bread roll, ham… NO CHEESE??? THIS IS… AN ABOMINATION. D=

Fuji glared icy daggers at the unfortunate nurse, whose only sin had been to be the one delivering his lunch.

"Where. Is. The. Cheese."

"Cheese, sir?"

And all heck broke loose.

_End of Other Flashback_

Unaware of all this Flashback-ing, as she had certainly not been the nurse receiving Fuji's wrath, the nurse gave him her own smile as she looked up from the papers before her, before pointing to the door on the left side of the lobby. "She's in room 207. Go through that door, and take the stairs to the second floor. It's the fourth door to your left." He thanked her and ushered his companions through the doorway, the nurse looking after them as the door swung gently shut. "Such sweet children," she sighed happily before returning to her paperwork.

***

Asa was a bit woozy when she opened her eyes, and her hazy eyesight made out a blurry blob of yellow. Am I in…heaven? Is that…cheese?

No. It was only Fuji. In a bright yellow polo.

Ah, darn it all.

_Blahblahblah…and other stuff happens which we shall skip because I'm lazy and I can't think of a way to incorporate Cheese into a romance scene…sort of…_

In the other corner of the room, seated calmly in a chair, Oshitari snickered to himself. Ah… another job well done. Killing two birds with one stone gave such a satisfying feeling. Not only that, but this would make vexing Fuji so much more fun and enjoyable.

Tokyo guys truly were very obsessed with cheese. No one ever found out what the whole deal about it was, though.

_The End???_

_

* * *

_

A/N: (Sileny here!) This is a parody of Chapter 16, written by my friend Teresa (no duh... XD) We thought it would be funny if we put a little parody of life up. Review, please!


	22. Omake 2: SUmmer Festival

**_Summer Festival_**

Fuji craned his head upwards so that his face was to the welcome warmth of the sun. Standing besides him was Eiji, his hands in his pockets, the headphones of his IPod in his ears as he listened to music. Fuji briefly entertained himself with the thought that Eiji's favorite song was a medley of mewing kittens. That would certainly explain why Eiji had decided to suddenly go into a cat language during a friendly street tennis match the day before. Shaking himself from his thoughts of Eiji and cats, the brown haired prodigy shifted the bulging, white shopping bags he held from one hand to another (Eiji had a matching set, as well) as he turned his face down the street, smiling eyes searching for the bus and the two boys' ride home.

"It's late," he grumbled, shifting the heavy grocery bags yet again. Another good reason not to take the faculties offered for public transportation: they were never on time, and what time there _was_ was wasted waiting for it. "I don't see why Nee-san couldn't have given us a ride home," he continued to grumble, looking quite sulky indeed. But no, Fuji Yumiko had simply smiled when Fuji had made his request, and had said, very sweetly, that she would be busy with work and that he should take the bus home.

They could probably walk to the Fuji residence, but that idea had been shot down by Eiji, who was loathe to walk the entire way over to his friend's house with extremely heavy grocery bags.

Half an hour later, the two boys were walking down Fuji's street, Fuji going on a tireless monologue about the unreliability of public buses, that was, until Eiji brought him back to reality, courtesy of his loud voice. "Miho!" he called, waving madly. When the girl saw him and waved back, he shot off like a cannon towards her, grocery bags and all. "Miho! Miho! How are you? How was your day? Would you like to help me carry some of these bags? Of course you would, because Miho loves to help people!" So saying, he dumped one of the large bags into the arms of a puzzled Miho, chattering on happily as he did so. "Nya, Miho, what are you doing over here?" Eiji asked curiously, breaking off from his ramblings. "And you have a bag as well! What's in it?" Eiji's attention was directed to the backpack slung casually over her shoulder.

"I'm going over to Asa-chan's house to convince her to come to today's summer festival."

"Oh…" Eiji was silent for a moment vefore he brightened up. "Great! Fujiko-chan and I will come and help as well! We can back the cake at her house, too!" Conveniently, the redhead failed to mention that there would be a good chance of the oven exploding with Fuji cooking.

Miho, however, looked thrilled. "Great!" she exclaimed as well, clapping her hands together. "The more the merrier! We'll help with the cake as well!"

It sounded like a good plan, and so the three of them marched purposefully down the street towards on unsuspecting Asa's house.

***

The door to the Ijuuin house was opened by a girl who looked like she had just crawled out of bed. Fuji scolded her lightly as she let them in, looking puzzled as to why she was getting a sudden visit. When she asked, all she got was a response of "Summer Festival! Summer Festival!" as Fuji and Eiji set up in her kitchen, leaving her with Miho in the living room.

"I'll go make some tea!" Asa offered, starting for the kitchen.

Miho beat her to it. "I'll make it!" she said brightly, bypassing her. "Sit down and rest, Asa-chan!"

"You make me sound like an old lady, Miho-chan," Asa complained, but nonetheless she obeyed, sitting on the couch and listening to the sounds coming from the kitchen. She smiled slightly as she heard Eiji chatter on happily to his baking partner about the cake they were going to make. Fuji laughed in response, and then there was a faint tinkling of glassware as Miho made tea. Presently, she returned to the living room with a laden tray.

"Here you are!" Miho set the tray onto the coffee table and busied herself with pouring the warm, amber liquid. "Would you like milk? Sugar?"

"Um… just plain will do." Asa accepted the drink and cradled it in her hands. "Really, though," she muttered, "you shouldn't have done it. It's rude to make a guest work. Now I feel guilty."

Miho pounced on those words. "Perfect! How about you work off that guilt and do a favor for me?"

"Wha…?"

Miho grabbed her backpack from where she had placed it on the couch, unzippering it and digging through its contents like a frenzied dog. "Here! You have two hours to read all of these books. They're very important; don't skip anything!" Among the titles that she dumped on her hapless friend was Skating for Beginners, A Beginner's Guide to Ice-skating, and The Art of Figure Skating. But before she could even crack open one of the books, there was an explosion in the kitchen.

Eiji's indignant voice drifted from the kitchen to their ears. "Oi, Fuji, what did you put in this cake? Gunpowder?" Miho and Asa exchanged quizzical (albeit worried) glances before standing up and making their way to the two sputtering boys.

The kitchen… was an utter disaster. Cake batter dripped off the counter, the stove, the open oven, Fuji, and Eiji. Trails of powdery white flour littered the countertop, the floor, Fuji, and Eiji (no surprise there). If Asa hadn't been fully awake when she let her friends in her house no more than twenty minutes ago, she was now. Her eyes flitted around the devastated room, not lingering on one spot for more than a few moments. Standing in the center of the mess, Fuji and Eiji fidgeted nervously as they waited for the verdict.

Said verdict was nothing like they thought it would be. Both Miho and Asa nearly collapsed laughing, leaving the boys dumbfounded (and it wasn't often that Fuji was dumbfounded) and annoyed. "It's not funny!" they argued in their defense.

Asa covered her mouth in an attempt to stifle her giggles, while Miho tried to mask her laughs as coughs. Crying tears of mirth, Asa edged cautiously into the messy kitchen. Fuji watched her progress with an adorable look of absolute confusion on his face. "Look at yourself," she scolded, reaching up and brushing a few wisps of his hair from his face. Her fingers came back sticky with batter. "You're dripping in batter. It makes it hard to figure out who's the one being baked: the cake itself or you two!" She stepped back, frowning slightly as she took in the state he was in and then that of Eiji's. "You guys will have to clean up. I think Otou-san won't mind if you borrow something for the mean time until you can change into a new set of clothes. Don't they look like walking cakemen, Miho-chan?"

"Yeah! They do look quite like it."

Asa proceeded to shoo the two boys out into the hall and up the stairs. "Wait one moment! I'll see if I can find something to fit you!" She scampered off to find the promised garments, leaving Eiji and Fuji to drip cake batter over the floor. "Don't worry about the mess; I'll clean it up later. These should be able to fit you two. Just come back downstairs when you're finished; Miho and I will take care of the cake." And then she was heading back downstairs before they could even squeak out a word of protest.

"Well… I guess there's nothing else we can do about it, is there?" Fuji asked with a little shrug. "Do you want to go first?" he offered. Eiji grinned at him and then bounced into the bathroom, shutting the door with a gentle click. Fuji settled himself into the floor and tried to limit his dripping cake batter to as small a space as possible. So when Eiji came out of the shower with all the cake batter washed off him, he found his friend curled up into a little ball.

"Nya, Fujiko…" Eiji muttered, poking him. "You'll freeze into a cake statue if you don't wash off all of that batter."

"Ah… is that so?" Fuji asked, uncurling himself and vanishing into the bathroom. "We wouldn't want that to happen, now, would we?" The door shut and then Eiji heard the water running as Fuji started his shower. Giving his wet hair one last rub with his towel, he bounced downstairs into the kitchen.

Half of the mess was already cleaned up courtesy of Miho's diligence in cleaning, and Asa was manning the counter as she mixed up another bowl of cake batter. She looked up when she heard Eiji enter the kitchen and flashed a smile. "There's tea, Eiji-kun," she offered, gesturing to the tea set on the kitchen table. Eiji thanked her before pouring himself a cup. "Um… what exactly is this Summer Festival?" she ventured forth, looking curiously at the boy as she stirred.

Eiji looked up from his tea with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Well… it's a Summer Festival," he offered. Miho offered a small snort from the floor as she worked to clean up the last of the mess. "Tezuka said that we did well during the Nationals, so he offered that we go ice-skating," he said cheerfully. Of course, it also helped that Fuji and Eiji had "softened him up," so to speak, beforehand, but she didn't need to know that. And Miho definitely didn't need to know that, otherwise she would pester him continuously on how he did it.

"Well… that sounds fun," Asa mused, returning to her stirring. That would certainly explain why Miho had dumped all of those ice-skating related books on her shortly before. "Is Miho-chan going as well, then?" she asked, pouring it out into a cake pan.

"Yeah! And you can come, too!" Eiji said brightly, picking up his cup again and sipping at the warm liquid. "It'll be fun! We can teach you how to skate if you don't know how!"

"I…"

"Don't worry! Don't worry!" Eiji said. "I'm sure Fujiko-chan would love to teach you! Doesn't he strike you as the teacher type?"

In the shower, Fuji had to pause while lathering his hair with shampoo to sneeze. _Oh my… someone's talking about me behind my back, _he thought, rinsing the soap suds of his body. _It might be Eiji, now that I think of it… he's probably chattering off his head in front of Miho._ Shutting off the water, he got out of the shower and dried himself off, satisfied now that he wasn't covered in cake batter. Dressing in the borrowed clothes, he headed downstairs to find that Eiji was indeed chattering on.

Eiji was in the middle of a lecture as Fuji walked into the now spotless kitchen. "Because Fujiko-chan is a tensai, after all!" he was saying, "A tensai can do anything!"

Fuji sneezed again and Eiji whipped around to find the genius standing in the doorway. "Just because I'm called a genius doesn't mean I can do anything," he said amiably. "For instance," here he held up a finger and wagged it gently from side to side, "I can't fly. Ooh… is that tea?" He poured himself a cup and sipped happily. "I can skate though," he added, almost as an afterthought.

"That's good enough; you can teach Aa-chan! She's coming to the skating session, and then she's going to celebrate the rest of the Festival with us!"

"I don't remember ever agreeing to that…"

Fuji laughed. "Whatever you say, Aa-chan," he teased, grinning at her, "it's fruitless. You're going, the end."

She had nothing to say to this, and that ended the discussion.

***

Asa laced up her skates and then made her way slowly to the rink. She was hesitant to actually go on the ice, as it was slippery, cold, slippery, wet, did she mention slippery? "Do I have to do this?" she asked some random person who was standing next to her, and received an odd look from that person before she was pushed out onto the ice.

Fuji wagged a finger in her face when she turned around and gave him a sulky glare. "Of course you do, Aa-chan," he said brightly, stepping out after her and gliding up besides her, adjusting his scarf to a more comfortable position around his neck. "It's not that hard. I'll teach you, all you have to do is hold on to me." He grabbed her hand and began moving forward, and she was reduced to clinging desperately to him as if her life depended on it. She swore he was laughing at her as he moved along, from the way his shoulders were shaking.

There was suddenly a shriek and when the two of them turned around, they found Eiji trying his ultimate best to teach Miho how to skate without toppling completely onto her face. "Poor Miho-chan doesn't look too coordinated on the ice…" Asa said softly, although she really shouldn't be saying anything on the subject, as she wasn't that coordinated herself.

"Eiji looks like he's having fun," Fuji noted brightly. "Let's join them." And without warning, he turned and headed in their direction, which was at the other end of the rink.

Miho looked up from her seat on the ice as Fuji and Asa came up. Fuji's smile was mischievous, and Asa looked like she wanted nothing more than to bolt from the place. "Hey!" she said brightly, pushing herself up. Kaidoh and Inui passed them on their trip around the rink, Inui giving his junior a lecture on the proper forms of ice-skating so that he could go extremely fast and use the least amount of power in doing so. Next, Tezuka skated around with Echizen, listening as the rookie spoke about some new topic tennis related. And then there was Oishi and Taka-san, the former lecturing the latter yet again about the dangers of being too reckless out on the courts and hitting too many too-powerful shots. Momo clung to the boards for all he was worth, looking exceedingly nervous.

"Oishi never stops, does he?" Eiji asked cheerfully, tucking his hands behind his head as he watched his doubles partner. "No wonder he's Seigaku's Mother Hen! He's such a worrywart!" As soon as those words left his mouth, Oishi sneezed, tripping over his own feet and landing flat on his back. Startled, Eiji hurtled over to the downed Oishi, wailing apologies as he did so. Fuji laughed as Tezuka and Echizen paused their rather one-sided conversation and looked over; Tezuka's face had a look on it that raked through Fuji, as if scanning him to see if he was guilty enough to be assigned laps around the ice rink.

"It wasn't me," Fuji offered, waving cheerfully at his captain. Tezuka just gave a shake of his head before continuing on with his skating. "Tezuka really needs to stop frowning all the time. Skating is supposed to be fun, not torture." By this time Asa and Miho had inched their way over to Eiji and Oishi, and were asking how he was. Oishi was fine, thankfully, although he would most likely be sprouting several large bruises the next morning.

"Honestly, Eiji," the egghead sighed, shaking his head as he dusted the massive amounts of snow off of him. "Must you go about talking about people behind their backs?" For answer, Eiji simply grinned and flashed his victory sign in Oishi's face.

For the next half hour, they skated (or tried to skate, at least) until it was time for the ice cut. Momo was obviously very happy with this decision, and collapsed on a chair and gave an exhausted sigh. "I'm never going to go skating ever again," he groaned, 'Never again…"

Eiji was ecstatic as he took out a round box. "Let's eat, let's eat!" he exclaimed. "Fujiko-chan and I tried to bake a cake, but we kind of failed… so Aa-chan and Miho baked one for us."

Tezuka frowned. "When you say 'fail', how exactly did you fail?" Because this was Fuji they were talking about, so it was natural for him to worry.

Fuji grinned like an impish child. "The oven exploded," he said, sounding as though ovens exploded on a daily basis (they probably did, what with Fuji's recent discovery on his inability to bake cakes). Tezuka sighed; he had right to worry. "But it's alright! It got cleaned up thanks to Miho-chan." He cut the cake into pieces for all of them and then handed them out. "Have a slice," he offered to his captain.

"You know I don't like sweets."

Those blue eyes opened and stared at him sternly. "Saa… you wouldn't want to waste Miho-chan's and Aa-chan's efforts, now, would you? It's delicious." When Tezuka refused again, Fuji frowned, taking the slice of cake and loading a portion onto a fork. "Open," he commanded, and when Tezuka gave him a glare and was about to say something to deter him, he popped the forkful of dessert into his mouth. Once that was done, he poked the fork into the slice of cake. "Now you have no choice but to eat the cake," he said, placing the plate into Tezuka's lap. Asa and Miho sighed in unison as Fuji continued his task of divvying up the cake.

"I brought sushi," Taka offered. His teammates gave happy little exclamations before falling on the sushi like a pack of hungry wolves.

"It's really good!" Momo said happily, stuffing another sushi into his mouth.

"Arigatou, Momo."

"Boys are so enthusiastic about food, aren't they?" Miho asked brightly. She had packed her own bento, and now she took the liberty of unwrapping it to eat. "Want a dango, Asa-chan?" She held up a rice dumpling. "Nii-san made them this morning because he said he wanted a different taste today, so I'm not sure how it will taste. But it looks nice, ne?"

"Yeah… I'll try one." She took the dumpling and popped it into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. "Mmm! It's really good! I didn't know that Oshitari-kun was such a good cook."

Miho grinned. "Surprising, isn't it? Eiji's a good cook, as well… as long as he's not cooking with Fuji-kun." She glanced at the two boys, noting how Fuji kept on teasing Tezuka as the captain ate his way through the slice of cake and how Eiji chatted happily with Oishi as they ate what was left of the sushi. Inui was talking to Taka about some topic or another, with Momo and Kaidoh interjecting occasionally. "Tennis is an amazing thing, if it is able to bring together so many different personalities. Through practicing together, winning together, and losing together, everyone understands each other better. Problems are approached and overcome together." She sighed and packed up her finished lunch. "If only all of the world's problems could be solved through the use of tennis… what a world that would be!"

It was obvious that Miho had never encountered someone like Akutsu Jin before on the tennis courts.

* * *

A/N: It's a little too long for an omake, isn't it? Whoops.... ^^; Please read and review! Thank you very very much!

The sequel is coming along nicely, although it's really slow in coming. Please hang around and read it when it's up! Thanks!


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